CARPENTER'S 
GEOGRAPHICAL  READER 


IC-NRLF 


NORTH 
AMERICA 


GIFT  OF 
R  -D  .LINc.il 


1HO     Umiitu.U-     110  Wi 


SW     Greenwich 


CARPENTER 'S  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER 


NORTH   AMERICA 


BY 


FRANK    G.  CARPENTER 


NEW  YORK  • :  •  CINCINNATI  • :  •  CHICAGO 

AMERICAN     BOOK     COMPANY 


,4- 


Carpenter's  Geographical  Readers 


NORTH   AMERICA         ....  60  cents 

SOUTH  AMERICA          ....  60  cents 

EUROPE  .......  70  cents 

ASIA  ......  60  cents 

AUSTRALIA,    OUR    COLONIES,  AND 

OTHER  ISLANDS  OF  THE  SEA     .  60  cents 

AFRICA    .......  60  cents 

These  Readers  are  not  dry  compilations   from  other   books,  but 
comprise  vivid  descriptions  of  the  author's  personal  observations. 


Copyright,  1898,  by 
FRANK  G.  CARPENTER. 


CARP.   N.   AM. 

E-P      39 

Gift      ,  ,0- 

R  -D  .LlNOt'ls 

EDUCATION  DEFt', 


PREFACE. 


THE  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  give  to  its  readers  a 
living  knowledge  of  some  of  the  wonders  of  the  country 
and  continent  in  which  they  live.  Upon  a  personally  con 
ducted  tour  they  are  taken  by  the  author  through  the 
most  characteristic  parts  of  the  North  American  continent. 
They  travel  through  the  United  States,  British  America, 
Mexico,  and  Central  America,  studying  the  most  interest 
ing  features  of  life  and  work  among  the  people  of  each 
country,  learning  how  they  are  governed,  and  what  they 
do  in  order  to  live.  Much  information  is  also  given  con 
cerning  the  natural  resources  and  the  physical  features  of 
the  countries  visited. 

The  greater  part  of  the  journey  is  taken  in  the  United 
States.  Here  the  young  Americans  learn  what  makes  us 
a  great  nation,  and  see  for  themselves  the  sources  of  our 
national  wealth.  They  visit  our  chief  cities.  They  go 
through  the  cotton  and  tobacco  plantations  of  the  South, 
linger  under  the  orange  groves  of  Florida,  and  spend  some 
time  among  the  vast  corn  and  bread  lands  of  the  North. 
They  travel  over  the  plains.  They  go  down  into  the 
mines  and  see  how  coal,  iron,  copper,  gold,  and  silver  are 
taken  out  of  the  depths  of  the  earth  and  turned  to  the  use 
of  man.  They  spend  days  in  the  forests  visiting  the  luin- 

5 

57579J 


6  PREFACE. 

her  camps  and  hunting  for  game.  They  see  the  great 
natural  wonders  of  our  country,  now  stopping  awhile  at 
Niagara  Falls,  now  drifting  down  through  the  Grand  Can 
yon  of  the  Colorado,  now  resting  under  the  shadow  of 
the  big  trees  of  California,  and  later  on  wandering  about 
among  the  wonderful  geysers  of  the  Yellowstone  Park. 

From  Puget  Sound  they  sail  north  to  Alaska,  the  land  of 
ice,  gold,  and  seals,  and  thence  travel  up  the  Yukon  River 
and  over  the  frozen  plains  to  the  Mackenzie.  After  ex 
ploring  the  great  fur  lands  of  the  northern  part  of  our 
continent,  they  return  southward  and  visit  the  settled  parts 
of  Canada,  including  its  capital  and  its  other  great  cities. 

From  Halifax  they  take  ship  for  Mexico,  going  almost 
directly  from  the  cold  lands  of  the  North  to  the  semi- 
tropical  regions  of  our  sister  republic.  They  ascend 
Popocatepetl,  travel  over  the  Mexican  plateau,  and  then, 
after  a  journey  through  Central  America,  close  the  tour  at 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  sail  for  New  York. 

These  imaginary  tours  which  the  children  make  will,  it 
is  believed,  not  only  give  them  much  valuable  information 
of  a  practical  character,  but  will  inspire  them  with  intelli 
gent  patriotic  motives  and  with  a  commendable  pride  in 
our  country's  institutions.  Used  as  a  supplementary 
reader  in  connection  with  the  geographies  studied  at 
school,  the  book  will  aid  in  imparting  a  living  interest 
to  the  lessons  therein  contained,  and  will  be  found  to  be 
a  valuable  aid  in  explaining  and  fixing  in  the  mind  many 
interesting  facts  which  might  otherwise  be  but  imperfectly 
apprehended. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  General  View  of  North  America 

II.  In  our  National  Capital        ..... 

III.  A  Visit  to  the  President  and  to  the  Halls  of  Congress 

IV.  The  Departments  of  the  Government    . 
V.  Baltimore  and  our  Oyster  Beds 

VI.  In  Philadelphia— A  Visit  to  the  Mint  . 

VII.  New  York  and  Some  of  its  Wonders    . 

VIII.  Our  Foreign  Commerce        ..... 

IX.  New  England — Commerce  and  Manufactures 

X.  Among  the  Mountains  and  Lakes  of  New  England 

XI.  In  Boston 

XII.  From  New  England  South  by  Steamer 

XIII.  In  the  Land  of  Cotton 

XIV.  Among  the  Ricefields  .         .         . 

XV.  A  Visit  to  a  Turpentine  Farm      .... 

XVI.  Florida  and  its  Orange  Groves     .... 

XVII.  Through  the  Mississippi  Jetties  to  New  Orleans 

XVIII.  A  Visit  to  a  Sugar  Plantation       .... 

XIX.  Up  the  Mississippi  River  to  St.  Louis  . 

XX.  Indian  Corn  and  the  Corn  Belt     .... 

XXI.  A  Visit  to  a  Great  Wheat  Farm   .... 

XXII.  A  Journey  on  the  Great  Lakes     .... 

XXIII.  The  Iron  and  Copper  Mines  of  Lake  Superior 

XXIV.  Life  in  the  Lumber  Regions         .... 
XXV.  Our  Great  Cities  on  the  Lakes     .... 

XXVI.  A  Visit  to  Niagara  Falls 

7 


9 
14 

25 

34 
45. 
50 

57 
65 
76 
84 

9i 

99 

109 

119 

125 
130 

135 
M3 
150 
159 
164 
172 
179 
184 
190 
195 


8  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

XXVII.  Travels  in  the  Oil  Regions      ......     203 

XXVIII.  Travels  in  the  Coal  Regions  .         .         .         .         .         .211 

XXIX.  Pittsburg  and  its  Iron  Works           .....     218 

XXX.  The  Greatest  Lake  Port  in  the  World      .          .          .          .225 

XXXI.  The  Wonders   and  Treasures   of    the    Rocky   Mountain 

Region    .  235 

XXXII.      A  Visit  to  a  Gold  Mine 241 

XXXIII.      A  Day  in  a  Silver  Mine 248 

XXXIV.      Across  the  Rockies  to  Salt  Lake 256 

XXXV.     The  Fairyland  of  California 264 

XXXVI.  San  Francisco  and  the  Chinese        .....     274 

XXXVII.     The  Pacific  Northwest 278 

XXXVIII.     The  Yellowstone  National  Park 284 

XXXIX.  Among  the  Indians         .......      290 

XL.  Alaska  and  the  Seal  Islands    ......      298 

XLI.  British  America      ........     306 

XLII.  The  Cities  of  Canada      .          .          .         .         .         .          -316 

XLIII.  Spanish  North  America— Mexico    .....      327 

XLIV.      Travels  in  Mexico 336 

XLV.  Central  America     .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .     345 


LIST    OF    MAPS. 


North  America  ........          Frontispiece 

United  States     .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .16 

Alaska 298 

British  America  ..........     308 

Mexico      ............     329 

Central  America         ....         c          .....     346 


TRAVELS  THROUGH 

NORTH  AMERICA. 

I.    GENERAL   VIEW    OF    NORTH    AMERICA. 

WE  start  to-day  upon  our  travels  through  the  North 
American  continent.  We  are  about  to  explore 
one  of  the  most  wonderful  of  the  grand  divisions  of  the 
globe.  It  is  that  part  of  the  earth  upon  which  \ve  live, 
and  the  most  of  our  time  will  be  spent  in  the  vast  region 
known  as  the  United  States,  which  we  are  proud  to  call 
our  own  country. 

What  would  you  think  of  a  farmer  who  did  not  know 
his  own  farm,  or  what  he  had  on  it?  A  wise  landowner 
will  know  just  where  the  boundaries  of  his  possessions  are 
and  what  line  fences  separate  him  from  his  neighbors.  He 
will  know  every  hill  and  valley,  every  pond  and  stream. 
He  will  go  through  the  woods  to  see  if  there  is  any  game, 
and  will  drop  his  fishing  line  into  the  different  streams  and 
ponds  to  learn  about  the  fish.  He  will  try  to  know  just 
what  kind  of  crop  each  field  will  produce,  and  he  will  learn 
over  what  roads  he  can  most  easily  carry  his  crops  to  mar 
ket.  Perhaps  he  will  dig  in  the  hills  to  learn  if  they  con 
tain  coal,  iron,  or  copper;  and  if  any  one  tells  him  there 

9 


10  l   XOKTrr 'AMERICA. 

is  gold  or  silver  on  his  farm,  you  may  be  sure  he  will  not 
rest  until  he  knows  just  where  it  is.  He  will  ask  all  sorts 
of  questions  about  his  neighbors — what  kind  of  people  they 
are,  and  just  how  they  live;  and  he  will  not  stop  until  he 
knows  something  about  everything  that  is  going  on  around 
him. 

Now  the  boys  and  girls  of  this  country,  together  with 
their  parents,  are  the  owners  of  a  vast  tract  of  land  known 
as  the  "  United  States."  It  is  in  the  grand  division  of 
North  America ;  and  all  of  its  possessors,  being  sensible 
persons,  are  interested  in  learning  whatever  is  to  be  known 
of  its  resources,  its  various  advantages,  and  its  immediate 
surroundings.  This  is  indeed  what  we  shall  try  to  learn 
in  the  travels  that  we  are  about  to  describe  in  this  book. 

Before  we  start  let  us  take  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the 
country.  Suppose,  for  a  moment,  that  we  can  take  a  trip 
to  the  moon,  and  suppose  we  have  there  a  telescope  so 
powerful  that  we  can  see  the  whole  world ;  what  sort 
of  a  picture  does  our  continent  make  when  thus  spread 
out  before  us? 

We  see  that  North  and  South  America  are  two  vast 
peninsulas,  each  almost  surrounded  by  water.  North 
America  is  the  larger.  And  the  narrow  Isthmus  of  Pan 
ama,  with  its  luxuriant  vegetation,  looks  like  a  green  chain 
connecting  the  two. 

Should  we  attempt  to  draw  straight  lines  about  North 
America,  we  should  find  that  the  land  lies  almost  in  the 
shape  of  a  triangle,  the  northern  and  eastern  sides  of  which 
are  of  much  the  same  length.  Upon  each  of  these  two 
sides  we  might  see  a  great  silvery  spot  where  the  waters 
from  the  ocean  extend  into  the  land.  That  on  the  north 
lies  just  below  about  the  middle  of  the  line,  and  is  known 
as  Hudson  Bav  ;  while  that  on  the  east  lies  near  the  foot 


GENERAL    VIEW.  I  I 

of  the  line  at  the  south,  and  is  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  with 
the  green  island  of  Cuba  bordering  its  edge. 

As  we  stand  upon  the  moon  we  may  take  a  rapid  glance 
about  the  coast  of  this  vast  country.  There,  at  the  north 
west,  is  Bering  Strait,  a  thin  line  of  silvery  water  only  sixty 
miles  wide,  which  separates  North  America  from  Asia. 
Starting  from  this,  our  eyes  travel  southward,  along  the 
western  coast  of  Alaska,  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  the 
United  States,  Mexico,  and  Central  America,  to  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama.  Here  we  cross,  and,  turning  to  the  left,  we 
follow  the  coast  of  the  Caribbean  Sea  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  Reaching  the  Atlantic  Ocean  at  the  southern 
point  of  Florida,  we  follow  its  shore  line  until  we  pass 
New  York  and  New  England.  Farther  north  we  notice 
the  rocky  coasts  of  Newfoundland  and  Labrador  ;  and  then 
our  eyes,  dazzled  by  the  snow,  roam  among  the  icebergs 
of  the  Arctic  Ocean  until  at  last  they  rest  again  upon  our 
starting  point  in  Bering  Strait. 

Such  a  view  shows  us  something  of  the  vast  extent  of 
North  America.  The  line  about  the  coast  is  nowhere  reg 
ular  ;  it  has  many  capes,  bays,  and  gulfs ;  and  could  we 
measure  its  windings,  we  should  find  that  it  is  almost  as 
long  as  the  entire  distance  round  the  earth. 

Within  this  coast  line  lies  about  one  sixth  of  all  the  dry 
land  on  the  globe.  North  America  is,  in  fact,  the  third  in 
size  among  the  grand  divisions  of  the  earth.  It  is  more 
than  twice  as  big  as  Europe,  and  the  only  grand  divisions 
which  surpass  it  in  area  are  Asia  and  Africa. 

As  we  look  down  upon  it  we  see  that  the  most  of  North 
America  is  made  up  of  plains,  and  that  in  general  it  con 
sists  of  a  great  central  valley,  or  trough,  running  from  north 
to  south  between  high  lands  and  long  mountain  ranges. 
The  green  Appalachians,  a  little  back  from  the  Atlantic 


12 


NORTH    AMERICA. 


Ocean,  form  the  eastern  side  of  the  trough;  far  away  in 
the  west  are  the  wide  plateaus  and  the  lofty,  snow-clad 
peaks  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  highland ;  while  between 
these  mountain  regions  lie  the  central  plains  of  the 


Scene  in  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Mississippi,  the  Saskatchewan,  and  the  Mackenzie  rivers. 
These  plains  reach  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  Hudson 
Bay  and  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  form  one  of  the  largest 
valleys  of  the  earth. 

Halfway  up  this  valley,  near  the  Great  Lakes,  the  land 
rises  slightly  so  as  to  form  the  water  parting  called  the 
Height  of  Land.  North  of  this  divide  the  streams  flow  to 
the  northeast  and  north,  and  empty  themselves  into  the  cold 
waters  of  Hudson  Bay  or  of  the  Arctic  Ocean.  South  of 
it  they  flow  to  the  south  and  are  lost  in  the  warm  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  The  slopes  of  the  valley  in  both  directions,  how 
ever,  are  so  slight  that  one  may  go  through  it  from  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Arctic  Ocean  without  perceiving 
that  he  is  going  up  or  down  hill. 


GENERAL    VIEW.  13 

But  let  us  fix  the  telescope  directly  upon  our  own  coun 
try.  There  is  the  United  States,  lying  in  the  middle  of  the 
continent.  The  broad  lands  north  of  it  are  the  Dominion 
of  Canada,  while  south  of  it  are  Mexico  and  Central 
America,  extending  like  a  handle  to  the  great  body  of  the 
continent. 

Think  of  it!  All  of  that  land  between  Mexico  and  the 
Dominion  of  Canada  belongs  to  us.  What  a  big  country 
it  is!  It  is  so  wide  from  east  to  west  that  it  takes  more 
than  five  days  and  nights  on  a  fast  railroad  train  to  cross 
it ;  and  its  average  length  from  north  to  south  is  thirteen 
hundred  miles.  The  United  States  is  one  of  the  largest 
countries  in  the  world,  and,  with  the  territory  of  Alaska, 
it  contains  almost  as  much  land  as  all  Europe. 

The  United  States  is  a  very  rich  country.  Those  moun 
tains  on  its  eastern  edge  contain  millions  of  tons  of  iron, 
and  thousands  of  men  are  now  digging  in  them  to  get  out 
the  ore.  Among  the  same  mountains  are  vast  fields  of 
coal,  and  the  streams  which  flow  down  the  hill  slopes  fur 
nish  water  power  for  thousands  of  factories. 

The  Rocky  Mountain  highland,  in  the  western  part  of 
the  country,  contains  vast  quantities  of  gold,  silver,  cop 
per,  and  lead,  and  we  shall  see  the  miners  taking  the  metals 
out  of  the  hills.  There  are  many  wild  animals  among  these 
mountains,  and  during  our  tour  we  shall  have  splendid 
hunting  and  fishing. 

Between  the  eastern  mountains  and  this  great  mountain 
plateau  of  the  West  lies  one  of  the  most  fertile  valleys  of 
the  world.  See  those  silvery  lines  which  wind  their  way 
through  it,  as  we  look  down  upon  it  from  the  moon.  They 
look  like  threads  at  this  distance,  but  they  are  really  great 
rivers,  and  all  parts  of  the  valley  through  which  they  flow 
are  well-watered  lands.  That  valley  is  the  Mississippi 


14  THK    UNITED    STATES. 

Valley,  and  the  band  of  silver  which  runs  through  it  from 
north  to  south  is  the  Mississippi  River,  which,  with  its 
great  branch  the  Missouri,  is  the  longest  river  in  the  world. 

But  what  are  those  patches  of  silver  west  of  the  Appa 
lachians?  They  look  quite  large  as  they  lie  there  below 
us.  Those  are  the  Great  Lakes,  the  biggest  bodies  of 
fresh  water  on  the  globe.  They  are  so  big  that  they  seem 
like  seas,  and  when  we  travel  upon  them  we  shall  often  be 
out  of  sight  of  land. 

The  United  States  is  a  country  of  homes.  Its  valleys 
and  plains  are  dotted  with  cities  and  towns,  and  are  cov 
ered  with  a  network  of  black  lines.  Those  lines  are  the 
railroads.  The  United  States  has  more  railroads  than  any 
other  country  on  the  globe. 

It  is  one  of  the  busiest  lands  on  the  earth.  It  now  con 
tains  many  millions  of  industrious  people,  and  these  are 
engaged  in  so  many  different  kinds  of  work  that,  as  our 
eyes  move  over  the  land,  we  seem  almost  to  hear  the  hum  of 
the  machinery,  away  up  here  on  the  moon.  It  is  indeed 
an  interesting  land,  and  we  ought  to  be  proud  that  we  can 
call  it  our  country.  It  is  so  vast  that  we  hardly  know 
where  to  begin  to  explore  it.  But  there  in  the  East  is  its 
capital,  the  city  of  Washington,  and  from  there  we  shall 
start. 


II.     IN   OUR   NATIONAL    CAPITAL. 

IT  seems  strange  that  our  national  capital  should  be  so  far 
away  from  the  center  of  the  United  States.      You  would 
think  it  ought  to  be  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  about  half 
way  between  the  Dominion  of  Canada  and   the   Gulf  of 
Mexico.      It   is   on  the   Potomac  River,  about  a  hundred 


OUR    NATIONAL    CAPITAL.  15 

miles  from  its  mouth,  and  only  a  short  distance  from  the 
Atlantic  coast.  It  is  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Appala 
chian  Mountains,  a  long  way  from  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
and  thousands  of  miles  from  the  lofty  plateaus  of  the 
West.  The  inhabitants  of  Oregon,  California,  and  Wash 
ington  have  to  travel  almost  three  thousand  miles  if  they 
would  see  the  President,  and,  indeed,  most  of  our  people 
are  many  hundreds  of  miles  away  from  their  capital. 


The  Old  City  of  Washington. 

Now  the  capital  of  a  country  is  where  the  chief  officers 
of  its  government  live  and  do  business,  and  many  of  the 
people  who  have  business  with  the  government  must  go 
to  the  capital.  If  it  were  not  for  the  railroads,  this,  for  many 
of  us,  would  be  quite  inconvenient ;  and  were  it  not  for  the 
telegraph  and  telephone  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to 
govern  well  such  a  large  country  from  a  capital  so  situated. 


Longitude 


100 


33  Longitude 


West 


Greenwich 


1 8  THE    UNITED    STATES. 

But  why  was  the  capital  located  so  far  from  the  center 
of  the  United  States? 

The  story  is  connected  with  the  growth  of  our  country. 

When  the  Americans,  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  forced 
England  to  allow  them  to  govern  themselves,  there  were 
but  few  people  in  our  country,  and  it  was  not  thought 
that  the  United  States  would  ever  extend  so  far  westward. 
The  most  of  our  people  then  lived  east  of  the  Appalachian 
Mountains.  The  lands  to  the  westward  were  filled  with 
wild  Indians,  and  deer  and  bears  roamed  through  the 
dense  forests.  We  did  not  then  own  any  land  beyond  the 
Mississippi  River,  and  the  site  of  Washington  city  was  al 
most  in  the  center  of  the  inhabited  country  ;  so  when  a 
location  for  the  capital  of  the  new  government  had  to  be 
chosen,  this  was  thought  to  be  the  best  place. 

Congress  was  then  sitting  in  Philadelphia.  It  was  be 
fore  the  days  of  railroads,  and  President  Washington  came 
in  a  carriage  to  the  village  of  Georgetown,  which  is  now  a 
part  of  the  capital,  and  arranged  with  the  farmers  to  sell 
their  lands  to  the  government.  Soon  after  this  the  work 
of  laying  out  the  city  began  ;  but  it  was  almost  ten  years 
before  the  W^hite  House  was  finished  and  a  building  put 
up  on  Capitol  Hill  in  which  Congress  could  come  together 
to  make  laws. 

The  first  President  who  lived  in  Washington  was  John 
Adams.  He  came  alone  to  the  capital,  leaving  his  wife  to 
follow  him.  In  doing  so,  she  lost  her  way  in  traveling 
through  the  woods  from  Baltimore  to  Washington,  and  in 
one  of  her  letters  she  says  she  rode  for  miles  without  see 
ing  a  human  being. 

At  this  time  a  large  part  of  Washington  stood  in  the 
woods.  There  were  stumps  in  some  of  the  chief  streets, 
and  in  wet  weather  Pennsylvania  Avenue  was  almost  a 


OUR   NATIONAL   CAPITAL.  19 

river  of  mud.  The  congressmen  and  other  officials  did 
not  like  the  new  capital.  For  a  long  time  they  nicknamed 
it  by  such  titles  as  the  "  Wilderness  City,"  the  "  City  of 
Miserable  Huts,"  and  the  "  City  of  Streets  without  Houses." 
It  steadily  grew,  however,  and  it  is  now  one  of  the  largest 
cities  of  the  United  States,  and  is  said  by  travelers  to  be 
the  finest  capital  city  in  the  world. 


General  View  of  Washington  at  the  Present  Time. 

The  plan  of  Washington  is  a  beautiful  one.  From  the 
Capitol  building  as  a  center,  the  city  is  laid  out  in  four 
great  parts,  in  each  of  which  the  streets  cross  one  another 
at  right  angles,  making  them  look  as  if  four  checkerboards 
had  been  there  joined  together.  Through  the  checker 
boards,  running  in  all  directions,  there  are  wide  avenues, 


2O 


THE    UNITED    STATES. 


and  where  these  avenues  cut  through  the  streets  there  are 
circular  and  triangular  parks.  The  circles  and  triangles  are 
filled  with  statues,  fountains,  flowers,  and  trees,  and  they 
form  one  of  the  chief  beauties  of  the  citv. 


One  of  the  Small  Parks  in  Washington. 

Why  were  these  little  parks  so  placed? 

It  was  not  so  much  for  beauty  as  for  defense.  The  man 
who  planned  Washington  was  a  Frenchman,  Major  Pierre 
1'Enfant,  who  had  left  Paris  about  the  time  of  the  French 
Revolution,  when  the  mobs  were  destroying  the  govern 
ment.  In  laying  out  our  capital  he  had  the  bloody  scenes 
of  Paris  in  his  mind,  and  he  planned  a  city  which  he 
thought  could  be  easily  defended  and  at  the  same  time  be 
beautiful.  Each  of  the  little  parks  controls  several  streets, 


OUR    NATIONAL    CAPITAL. 


21 


and  a  cannon  placed  in  its  center  could  he  turned  around 
and  thus  fire  shot  down  a  half-dozen  different  streets. 

We  shall  take  bicycles  for  our  tour  through  the  city. 
Washington  has  more  than  two  hundred  miles  of  streets 
that  are  almost  as  smooth  as  a  floor.  They  are  paved 
with  gray  asphalt,  and  are  lined  with  shade  trees  whose 
branches  often  meet  overhead,  forming  long  arbors  of 
maples  and  magnificent  elms.  The  city  seems  to  be  built 
in  a  forest,  with  long  lines  of  houses  rising  out  of  the  trees. 
Along  the  streets  back  of  the  sidewalks  are  wide  strips  of 
green  lawn  which  extend  up  to  the  walls  of  the  houses. 


The  Library  of  Congress. 

We  devote  our  first  day  to  a  run  about  the  city.  The 
great  government  buildings  are  often  far  apart,  and  it  is  a 
full  mile  from  the  White  House  to  the  Capitol,  which  is 
situated  on  a  high  hill  to  the  eastward. 

Farther  on  we  come  to  the  National  Library  building, 


22  THE    UNITK1)    STATES. 

which  is  the  most  beautiful  public  building  in  the  United 
States.  It  covers  nearly  four  acres  of  ground,  and  its  great 
golden  dome,  as  big  as  the  largest  circus  tent,  can  be  seen 
shining  in  the  sunlight  for  many  miles  about  Washington. 
Leaving  the  library,  we  ride  a  mile  farther  to  the  navy- 
yard,  on  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Potomac.  We  are  al 
lowed  to  pass  in  by  the  soldiers  guarding  the  gate,  and  we 


The  Smithsonian  Institution. 

visit  the  foundries  where  the  great  guns  for  our  battle  ships 
are  made.  We  next  go  to  the  arsenal  to  watch  the  parade 
of  some  of  the  companies  of  soldiers  who  are  here  to 
guard  our  capital  city.  Then  we  go  back  to  the  White 
House  through  the  long  park  known  as  the  Mall,  which 
lies  south  of  Pennsylvania  Avenue.  This  park  is  filled 
with  beautiful  trees,  under  the  branches  of  which  we  ride 
as  we  pass  the  red  brick  building  of  the  National  Museum, 


OUR    NATIONAL    CAPITAL. 


wheel  by  the  great  brownstone  castle-like  Smithsonian 
Institution,  and  go  out  among  the  beautiful  flower  beds 
back  of  which  stand  the  offices  and  greenhouses  of  the 
Agricultural  Department. 

A  little  farther  on,  we  leave  the  trees  and  enter  a  large 
green  field,  one  edge  of  which  is  washed  by  the  waters  of 
the  Potomac  River,  and 
here   we  see   the  high 
monument      built      in 
memory      of      George 
Washington. 

The  Washington 
Monument  maybe  seen 
from  any  part  of  the 
city.  At  a  long  distance 
it  looks  like  a  big  piece 
of  chalk  with  a  well- 
sharpened  point.  It 
seems  to  grow  as  we 
come  toward  it.  It  gets 
bigger  and  bigger,  and 
as  we  walk  up  the  lit 
tle  hill  on  the  bank  of 
the  Potomac  where  it 
stands,  and  put  our 
chins  against  its  side, 
and  look  up,  it  appears 
to  be  a  huge  marble 
wall  built  right  up  into 
the  sky. 

The     monument     is 
made  of  hundreds  of  blocks  of  marble,  so  closely  joined 
together  that  you   can    hardly   see  where    one   stone    fits 

CARP.   N.   A.M.— 2 


Washington  Monument. 


24  THE    UMTKI)    STATES. 

into  another.  Il  is  fift y-five  feet  square  at  the  base,  and 
slopes  upward  so  gradually  that,  if  you  could  slice  off  the 
top  where  the  shaft  begins  to  slope  to  a  point,  you  could 
build  there  a  house  with  four  large  rooms  on  each  floor, 
and  the  edges  of  the  house  would  not  be  outside  the 
monument. 

The  inside  of  this  huge  structure  is  hollow.  There  is 
an  elevator  in  it,  and  as  we  ride  to  the  top  the  man  in 
charge  tells  us  that  the  Washington  Monument  is  the 
highest  stone  structure  in  the  world. 

As  we  stand  again  at  the  foot  of  this  monument  and  look 
toward  the  north,  we  face  three  of  our  chief  government 
buildings.  There,  at  the  left,  is  the  huge  granite  structure 
occupied  by  the  State,  War,  and  Navy  Departments;  at 
the  right  is  the  somber  gray  Treasury  Department,  where 
much  of  our  national  money  is  kept;  and  in  the  center 
shines  out  the  White  House,  where  the  President  lives. 

We  look  at  our  watches,  however,  and  find  that  it  is  too 
late  to  do  more  to-day.  It  is  almost  half  past  four  o'clock, 
and  the  government  offices  are  ready  to  close. 

As  we  reach  the  Treasury  building  a  mass  of  men  and 
women  pours  forth  from  each  of  the  doors  which  face 
Pennsylvania  Avenue.  At  the  same  time  the  other  de 
partments  of  the  government  dismiss  their  employees, 
•and  the  streets  are  almost  blocked  with  clerks  on  their 
way  home  from  work. 

We  find  that  it  takes  a  vast  number  of  people  to  do 
the  public  business  of  the  United  States,  and  we  are  told 
that  more  than  twenty  thousand  persons  are  needed  to 
keep  the  books  and  carry  on  the  national  business  at 
Washington. 


A  VISIT    TO   THE   PRESIDENT 


III.     A    VISIT   TO    THE    PRESIDENT    AND    TO 
THE    HALLS    OF    CONGRESS. 

OUR  first  trip  to-day  will  be  to  the  White  House.      We 
are   to   meet   the  President    of  the    United   States. 
After  that  we  shall  go  to  the  Capitol  and  see  something  of 
Congress  and  the  Supreme  Court. 

Our  government  is  made  up  of  three  branches  :  the  leg 
islative  branch,  or  Congress,  which  makes  the  laws ;  the 
executive  branch,  consisting  of  the  President  and  his  offi 
cials,  which  car 
ries  out  the  laws  ; 
and  the  judicial 
branch,  or  the 
courts,  estab 
lished  in  order 
to  define  the 
meaning  of  the 
laws.  The  Pres 
ident  is  called 
theChief  Execu 
tive  of  the  United 
States.  He  is,  in 
fact,  our  chief 
business  manager.  He  is  elected  for  a  term  of  four  years, 
and  he  receives  a  salary  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  a  year. 

We  walk  up  past  the  Treasury,  and  soon  come  to  the 
iron  gates  which  form  one  of  the  entrances  to  the  White 
House  grounds.  The  gates  are  wide  open,  and  we  go  in 
and  walk  undisturbed  up  the  roadway  which  leads  to  the 
great  porch  before  the  front  door. 

Here  we  stop  to  take  a  good  look  at  the 'White  House 


The  White  House. 


26 


WASHINGTON. 


before  we  enter.  It  is  made  of  sandstone,  but  is  so  painted 
that  as  you  view  it  from  the  street  it  looks  like  a  marble 
palace  shining  among  the  huge  forest  trees  which  surround 
it.  A  lawn  of  velvety  green  lies  between  it  and  the  street, 
and  on  our  way  in  we  go  by  a  fountain  which  sends  thou 
sands  of  silvery  drops  high  into  the  air. 

The  doors  before  us  are  of  the  finest  plate  glass  set  in 
brass  frames.     A  little  farther  in  are  other  doors  of  polished 

mahogany  which  have  brass 
knobs  decorated  with  stars. 
Now  the  doors  have  opened 
and  a  messenger  invites  us  to 
enter.  We  take  a  few  steps 
and  are  inside  the  Executive 
Mansion,  in  the  home  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States, 
where  all  our  presidents  have 
lived  since  the  year  1800. 

The  Executive  Mansion 
was  the  first  public  building 
erected  at  our  National  Capi 
tal.  George  Washington  se 
lected  the  site,  and  was  present 
Front  Door  of  the  white  House.  in  1 792  when  the  corner  stone 

was    laid.       He    lived   to  see 

the  building  completed,  for  it  is  said  he  walked  through  its 
rooms  only  a  few  days  before  his  death  in  1799,  although 
his  successor,  John  Adams,  was  the  first  President  to 
occupy  it.  During  the  War  of  1812  the  British  captured 
the  city  and  set  fire  to  the  Executive  Mansion,  burning 
much  of  the  wood  work  and  blackening  the  stone  walls. 
When  the  building  was  repaired  the  walls  were  painted 
white,  and  from  that  came  the  name  The  White  House, 


THE   WHITE   HOUSE.  2/ 

by  which  it  is  commonly  known  to  this  day,  although  its 
real  title  is  The  Executive  Mansion. 

The  first  room  we  see  shows  us  the  size  of  the  building. 
It  is  called  the  Vestibule,  but  it  is  four  times  as  big  as  the 
ordinary  parlor,  with  a  very  high  ceiling  upheld  at  the  back 
by  huge  pillars,  beyond  which  is  the  corridor  leading  to 
the  reception  rooms  of  the  -Mansion. 

Turning  to  the  left  through  this  hall,  we  first  visit  the 
East  Room,  which  takes  up  the  whole  east  side  of  the 
White  House.  Its  ceiling  is  three  times  as  high  as  that  of 
the  average  schoolroom,  and  its  floor  is  so  big  that  it  re 
quires  more  than  four  hundred  yards  of  carpet  to  cover  it. 
The  carpet  is  of  velvet,  and  so  soft  that  our  feet  sink  into 
it  as  we  walk  through  the  room. 

The  walls  of  the  East  Room  are  beautifully  decorated  in 
white.  From  its  ceiling  hang  wonderful  chandeliers,  upon 
each  of  which  are  thousands  of  pieces  of  cut  glass.  In  the 
walls  are  set  four  great  mirrors,  each  as  big  as  the  largest 
store  window,  in  which,  when  the  chandeliers  are  lighted 
for  the  President's  evening  parties,  the  glass  pendants  shine 
like  diamonds.  At  such  times  there  are  often  great  banks 
of  cut  flowers  below  the  mirrors,  and  flowers  and  ferns  are 
wreathed  throughout  every  part  of  the  vast  room.  There 
are  palm  trees  and  tropical  plants  in  the  corners  and  in 
the  windows.  The  parlor  is  then  filled  with  gaily  dressed 
people,  and  the  whole  makes  you  think  of  fairyland. 

At  the  end  of  the  East  Room  we  enter  a  parlor  furnished 
in  green  and  silver,  known  as  the  Green  Room,  and  from 
this  go  into  the  famous  Blue  Room,  where  the  President 
stands,  with  his  wife,  and  shakes  hands  with  those  who  come 
to  his  evening  receptions.  The  Blue  Room  is  oval  in  shape. 
Its  furniture  is  of  wood  decorated  with  gold  leaf,  and  cush 
ioned  with  satin  fine  enough  for  the  dress  of  a  queen. 


28 


WASHINGTON. 


Farther  on  is  a  room  the  walls  of  which  are  decorated  with 
red  silk  velvet ;  it  is  known  as  the  Red  Room  ;  and  beyond 
it  is  the  state  dining  room,  where  the  President  gives  his 
state  dinners  to  the  highest  officials  and  other  famous  people. 

We  are  in  the  state  dining  room  when  a  messenger  tells 
us  the  President  has  consented  to  see  us.  His  offices  are 
at  the  west  end  of  the  White  House  grounds,  connected  by 


The  President's  Office. 

a  passageway  with  the  White  House  itself.  We  go  with 
the  messenger  to  the  door  of  the  President's  office,  and  a 
moment  later  we  are  standing  in  front  of  the  Chief  Execu 
tive  of  the  United  States.  He  rises  and  offers  his  hand, 
and  we  are  somewhat  surprised  to  find  that  he  is  not  very 
different  from  the  other  men  we  have  known.  He  treats 
us  kindly,  and  chats  with  us  for  a  few  moments  about 
himself  and  his  duties. 


THE    CAPITOL.  29 

The  President  has  much  work  to  do.  He  is  kept  busy 
from  daylight  to  dark  directing  the  affairs  of  the  govern 
ment.  He  has  a  vast  number  of  officials  under  him,  both 
here  and  in  all  parts  of  the  country ;  and  as  we  go  out  we 
hear  the  click,  click,  click  of  a  telegraph  instrument,  and 
are  told  that  an  operator  is  kept  in  the  White  House  to  send 
out  the  President's  orders  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 


The  Capitol. 

Later  on  we  are  shown  the  Cabinet  Room,  where,  three 
times  a  week,  the  President  advises  with  the  men  who 
preside  over  the  different  departments  of  the  government. 
Here  he  discusses  with  them  a  vast  amount  of  perplexing 
business ;  and  we  learn  that  it  is  a  great  task  to  be  the  ruler 
of  a  country  so  large  as  the  United  States. 

Now  let  us  leave  the  White  House  and  make  our  way 
down  Pennsylvania  Avenue  to  the  national  Capitol. 


3O  WASHINGTON. 

What  a  beautiful  building  it  is!  As  we  ride  into  the 
park  which  surrounds  it,  it  appears  like  a  huge  marble 
palace  with  a  great  white  dome  floating,  as  it  were,  in  the 
blue  sky.  As  we  come  nearer  the  building  grows  larger 
and  larger,  and  we  believe  what  the  guide  tells  us,  that  it 
is  not  only  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  but  also  the  largest 
building  of  its  kind  in  the  world.  It  covers  three  and  one 
half  acres  of  ground,  and  it  has  so  many  rooms  that  there 
are  parts  of  it  in  which  we  might  get  lost  and  wander 
about  a  long  time  without  finding  our  way  out. 

Entering  the  Capitol,  we  find  its  rooms  swarming  with 
people.  It  is  a  city  in  itself,  the  chief  business  of  which  is 
to  make  laws  for  our  nation.  The  two  great  lawmaking 
bodies  are  at  the  opposite  ends  of  the  building.  In  the 
south  wing  is  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
in  the  north  is  the  chamber  of  the  United  States  Senate, 
while  a  wide  corridor  runs  through  the  building  from  the 
one  to  the  other. 

We  enter  at  the  House  side,  and,  pushing  our  way 
through  the  crowds,  soon  find  ourselves  in  the  gallery  of 
the  biggest  legislative  hall  in  the  world.  We  are  in  the 
hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  floor  below  us 
is  so  large  that  it  could  be  divided  into  twenty-eight  par 
lors,  each  sixteen  feet  square.  The  ceiling  is  so  high  above 
the  floor  that  six  of  the  tallest  men  might  stand  one  on  the 
head  of  the  other  within  this  room,  and  if  the  stockings  of 
the  first  man  rested  upon  the  floor  the  hair  of  the  sixth 
would  just  graze  the  ceiling.  Below  the  ceiling,  running 
all  round  the  room,  are  banks  of  galleries  which  begin  at 
the  edge  of  a  great  central  pit  and  slope  upward  to  the 
walls. 

As  we  sit  in  the  galleries  we  can  look  clown  into  this  pit 
upon  our  representatives  in  Congress  at  work.  Each  has 


THE    HOUSE    OF    REPRESENTATIVES.  31 

a  desk  much  like  a  school  desk  before  him,  and  the  scene 
makes  us  think  of  a  schoolroom,  in  which  the  Speaker  of 
the  House  has  the  place  of  the  teacher.  The  desks  run  in 
the  shape  of  a  half-moon  round  a  high  platform  at  one  side 
of  the  hall.  Upon  the  platfbrm  there  is  a  marble  pulpit, 


The  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

with  the  American  eagle  hanging  out  from  the  wall  above 
it.  This' pulpit  is  the  Speaker's  desk,  and  the  man  who  sits 
behind  it,  with  that  ivory-headed  mallet  in  his  hand,  is 
the  Speaker  of  the  House,  who  keeps  order  and  says  what 
shall  be  done. 

But  who  are  the  little  boys  with  the  silver  badges  about 
the  size  of  a  half-dollar  on  their  coats,  who  are  running  to 
and  fro  with  letters  and  papers  in  their  hands?  They  do 


WASHINGTON. 


not  seem  to  be  more  than  twelve  or  fifteen  years  of  age. 
Those  are  the  pages  of  Congress;  they  run  errands  for  the 
congressmen ;  and  each  receives  two  dollars  and  fifty 
cents  a  day  for  his  work.  When  a  congressman  wants  a 
boy  he  claps  his  hands,  and  the  boys  run  to 
him  from  their  seats  on  the  steps  of  the 
Speaker's  platform  to  get  his  orders.  We 
shall  find  other  boys  doing  the  same  work 
in  the  Senate. 

But  just  what  do  the  representatives  do? 
In  connection  with  the  Senate,  they  make 
the  laws  to  govern  this  big  country  of  ours, 
and  no  national  law  can  be  enforced  until  a 
majority  of  the  representatives  and  senators 
have  voted  for  it  and  it  has  been  approved 
by  the  President. 

But  how  do  they  become  congressmen  ? 
The  people  of  the  United  States  choose 
the  representatives.     The  states  are  divided 
into  congressional  districts,  each  containing  about  the  same 
number  of  people.     Each  district  has  the  right  to  one  mem 
ber  of  Congress,  and  its  people  choose  who  he  shall  be. 
And  are  the  senators  chosen  in  the  same  way  ? 
No ;  they  are  elected  by  the  different  state  legislatures. 
Every  state  has  the  right  to  two  senators,  and  little  Rhode 
Island  has  just  as  many  senators  as  Texas,  which  is  more 
than  two  hundred  times  as  big. 

Each  senator  and  each  representative  gets  a  salary  of 
seven  thousand  dollars  a  year  ;  but  the  representatives  are 
elected  for  only  two  years,  while  the  senators  are  chosen 
for  six.  The  representatives  choose  their  own  Speaker, 
or  presiding  officer;  but  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate 
is  the  Vice- President  of  the  United  States. 


A  Page. 


THE    SUPREME    COURT.  33 

But  let  us  now  leave  Congress  and  take  a  look  at  the 
Supreme  Court.  We  push  our  way  through  the  crowds 
about  the  doors  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  go 
on  into  a  beautiful  hall  filled  with  the  marble  statues  of 
some  of  the  greatest  men  of  our  history. 

We  pass  through  the  rotunda,  or  great  circular  room 
above  which  the  dome  rests,  and  go  on  into  the  chief  pas 
sageway  between  the  hall  of  Representatives  and  the 
Senate  chamber. 

Here  we  are  stopped  by  a  messenger  while  a  curious 
procession  crosses  the  hall.  It  consists  of  nine  men  in 
long  gowns  of  black  silk.  How  dignified  they  seem,  and 
how  quiet  every  one  is  as  they  go  by !  Those  are  the 
Supreme  Court  justices.  They  are  the  heads  of  the  judi 
cial  branch  of  our  government,  and  are  on  their  way  to  the 
court  room. 

Now  they  have  passed,  and  we  can  go  into  the  same 
room,  though  by  another  door.  We  enter  just  in  time  to 
hear  the  marshal  of  the  court  cry  out : 

"  Oyez!  oyez!  oyez  !  All  persons  having  business  be 
fore  the  honorable  Supreme  Court  are  admonished  to  draw 
near  and  give  their  attention.  The  court  is  now  sitting. 
God  save  the  United  States  and  this  honorable  court!" 

He  sings  this  out  in  loud  tones,  running  the  words  to 
gether  into  one  sentence,  and  saying  them  all  in  one  breath. 

As  he  does  so  the  justices  are  seating  themselves  be 
hind  a  long  mahogany  table  on  a  platform  at  the  back  of 
the  room,  their  armchairs  resting  against  columns  of  black- 
and-gray  marble.  The  chief  justice  is  in  the  center.  His 
chair  is  under  a  purple  canopy,  out  of  which  a  golden 
American  eagle,  holding  in  its  beak  a  strip  of  metal,  upon 
which  are  painted  the  words,  "  In  God  we  trust,"  looks 
down  with  fierce  eyes  upon  him. 


34  WASHINGTON." 

The  lawyers  and  people  who  have  business  before  the 
Supreme  Court  are  seated  in  a  little  inclosure  below  the 
bench.  Back  of  them,  against  the  wall,  sit  the  visitors, 
including  ourselves. 

It  is  usually  very  quiet  in  the  Supreme  Court,  for  this 
is  the  most  dignified  branch  of  our  government.  It  is  so 
quiet  to-day,  in  fact,  that  we  find  ourselves  almost  going 
to  sleep  after  our  hard  day's  sight-seeing.  We  are  fright 
ened  as  we  catch  ourselves  nodding,  and  we  rise,  and  slip 
gently  out,  and  make  our  way  back  to  our  hotel. 


IV.  THE  DEPARTMENTS  OF  THE  GOVERN 

MENT. 

THIS  is  our  last  day  in  Washington.      There  is  so  much 
more  to  be  seen  that  we  hardly  know  where  to  begin. 
We  first  visit  the  big  granite  building  containing  the  State, 
War,  and  Navy  departments. 

The  State  Department  has  charge  of  the  business  be 
tween  the  United  States  and  foreign  nations.  Its  offices 
take  up  the  south  end  of  the  building.  Here  all  our  trea 

ties,  or  contracts  with 
other  nations,  and  our 
most  important  state  pa 
pers  are  kept.  In  the 
library  we  see  the  ori- 

jefferson-s  Desk.   *  g^al  Declaration  of  In 

dependence,  and  also  the 

little  mahogany  desk  upon  which  Thomas  Jefferson  wrote 
it.  This  desk  is  so  small  that  you  could  easily  take  it  on 
your  lap.  It  has  little  drawers  in  it  for  pens  and  writing 


THE    STATE    DEPARTMENT. 


35 


materials ;  and  upon  lifting  the  lid,  we  see  pasted  upon  its 
under  side  a  note  in  President  Jefferson's  own  handwrit 
ing,  stating  that  it  was  upon  this  desk  that  he  penned  that 
famous  paper. 

But  who  are  those  queer-looking  people  we  see  as  we 
go  through  the  halls  ? 

They  wear  long  gowns  of  bright-colored  silk,  and  their 
hair  in  one  long  braid  down  their  backs.  They  have 


The  State,  War,  and  Navy  Building. 

yellow  faces  and  queerly  shaped  eyes.  They  cannot  be 
women,  they  are  too  large ;  and  we  have  never  seen  men 
like  them  before.  They  are  the  Chinese  minister  and  two 
of  his  clerks.  They  have  come  to  call  upon  the  Secre 
tary  of  State  about  some  matter  of  dispute  between  their 


36  WASHINGTON. 

country  and  ours.  If  we  wait  here  very  long  we  may 
possibly  see  the  German  minister  or  the  Russian  minister 
come  in.  All  the  great  nations  of  the  world  send  men  to 
our  capital  to  attend  to  the  business  which  their  govern 
ments  have  with  the  government  of  the  United  States  ;  and 
our  President  sends  his  ministers  to  other  capitals  all  over 
the  world,  and  consuls  or  business  agents  to  every  great 
city. 

The  Navy  Department  is  in  the  side  of  the  building 
which  faces  the  White  House.  Here  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  has  his  offices,  and  here  many  clerks  are  at  work 
upon  matters  relating  to  our  navy.  A  country  like 
ours  must  have  many  war  ships  to  defend  it.  There  is 
always  danger  that  some  other  nation  may  have  trouble 
with  us  and  may  send  gunboats  to  destroy  our  cities  on 


U.  S.  Cruiser  New  York. 


the  seacoast.  Every  great  nation  has  a  navy.  We 
know  we  are  in  the  Navy  Department  by  the  beautiful 
models  of  war  vessels  which  we  see  in  the  halls.  These 
models  are  toy  ships,  in  all  their  parts  exactly  like  our 


THE    NAVY    DEPARTMENT.  37 

men-of-war,  only  hundreds  of  times  less  in  size.  By 
looking  at  the  models  we  can  learn  something  about  the 
real  war  vessels,  and  can  see  just  how  they  work. 

Here,  for  instance,  is  a  model  of  the  armored  cruiser 
New  York.  The  model  is  so  small  that  you  could  put  it 
in  a  two-bushel  basket ;  but  the  ship  it  represents  is  as  long 
as  a  city  block,  and  so  wide  that  it  would  fill  an  ordinary 
street.  The  New  York  is  made  almost  altogether  of  iron 
and  steel.  Its  outside  is  covered  with  steel  plates  several 
inches  thick,  in  order  that  the  balls  fired  at  it  from  other 
ships  in  a  naval  battle  may  not  go  through  it. 

The  guns  of  the  New  York  are  of  many  kinds.     Some  will 
send  a  shower  of  bullets  at  the  enemy,  hundreds  of  balls 
flying  forth  in  a  minute.      It  has  cannon  of  several  sizes, 
some  of  which  are  so  big  that  it  takes  two  bushels  of  pow 
der  to  fire  them,  and  so  powerful  that  they  will  send  shells 
of  solid  steel,  weighing  as  much  as  three  full-grown  men, 
twelve  miles  at  one  shot.     The  war  ships  of  other  nations 
have    similar    guns, 
and  hence  you  see 
why  we  must  have 
our    vessels    plated 
with    steel    to   fight 
them. 

There  are  a  num- 
ber  of  these  large 
gunboats  in  our 
navy.  There  are  A  Modern  C0ast-defense  Rifle. 

smaller  war  vessels, 

which  will  go  very  fast,  and  which  are  known  as  commerce 
destroyers.  There  are  curious  torpedo  boats,  which  can 
travel  below  the  surface  of  the  water  and  send  out  bombs 
to  explode  under  the  war  ships  of  the  enemy  and  blow 


WASHINGTON. 


them  to  pieces.  There  are  also  models  here  of  some  of 
our  gunboats  known  as  rams,  from  the  front  of  each  of 
which  extends  a  sharp  steel  point.  Such  vessels  run  at 
full  speed  against  the  ships  of  the  enemy,  and  sink  them 
by  making  holes  in  their  sides.  These  things  show  us  how 
terrible  war  is,  and  we  should  be  glad  if  our  country  could 
always  be  at  peace  with  other  nations. 

We  see  more  of  such  matters  during  our  visit  to  the  War 
Department.  This  has  to  do  with  the  army.  We  must 
have  soldiers  upon  land  to  defend  us  as  well  as  ships  upon 
the  sea,  and  we  need  troops  in  some  parts  of  the  United 
States  to  protect  us  from  the  Indians  and  to  keep  them  in 
order.  The  United  States  has  but  a  small  number  of 
troops  in  comparison  with  other  nations,  for  we  learn  that 
in  times  of  peace  less  than  eighty 
thousand  soldiers  are  required  by  our 
great  country  with  its  millions  of  peo 
ple.  We  wonder  at  this,  and  we  ask 
one  of  the  generals  why  the  army  is  so 
small. 

He  replies  that  the  army  does  not 
give  any  idea  of  the  strength  of  the 
American  people.  He  tells  us  that 
each  state  has  its  militia,  so  that  within 
a  few  hours  one  hundred  thousand 
more  men  could  be  put  under  arms; 
and  he  says  that  the  United  States,  in 
case  of  a  war,  has  so  many  people  that 
it  could  furnish  more  than  ten  millions 

of  fighting  men  on  very  short  notice.  This  is  far  greater 
than  any  other  army  in  the  world,  and  as  we  think  of  it  we 
feel  very  proud  of  our  country's  strength. 

Passing  now  down  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  we    visit  the 


A  Soldier. 


TKKASl'RY    DEPARTMENT. 


39 


Treasury  Department.  The  Treasury  has  to  do  with  the 
money  of  the  government.  A  vast  sum  is  needed  to  pay 
the  salaries  of  the  employees,  to  carry  the  mails,  and  to  do 
other  kinds  of  government  work. 

The  money  comes,  in  part,  from  the  tariff  on  imports, 
or  taxes  upon  things  from  foreign  lands  which  are  sent 
into  this  country  for  sale.  When  ships  arrive  at  any  port 
they  are  examined  by  the  customs  officers  of  the  Treas 
ury  Department,  and  upon  certain  kinds  of  goods  a 
tariff,  or  tax,  is  collected.  This  tariff,  or  tax,  is  a  stated 


The  Treasury  Building. 

amount  for  each  yard,  gallon,  or  pound  of  the  material, 
or  a  certain  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  the  goods  in  the  land 
from  which  they  have  been  brought  This  amount  is 
usually  added  by  the  importers  to  the  price  asked  for  the 
goods,  so  that  when  we  buy  them  it  is  ourselves  who 
really  pay  the  tax. 

Other  taxes  come  from  certain  kinds  of  goods  manufac 
tured  in  our  country.  These  are  known  as  revenue  taxes, 
and  are  collected  only  on  spirituous  liquors,  such  as  whisky, 

CARP.   N.   AM.— 3 


40 


WASHINGTON. 


brandy,  and  beer,  and  upon  manufactures  of  tobacco  for 
chewing,  smoking,  and  snuffing.  Such  taxes  are  also 
usually  added  to  the  cost  of  the  articles  taxed,  and  so  the 
people  who  use  them,  and  not  the  manufacturers,  are  really 
the  persons  who  pay.  In  addition  to  this,  the  government 
gets  some  money  from  its  sales  of  public  lands,  from  the 
sale  of  postage  stamps,  and  from  various  other  sources. 

The  money  is  sent  to  the  Treasury  Department  to  be 
kept  until  needed.  There  is  usually  a  vast  amount  of 
money  on  hand,  and  we  open  our  eyes  wide  when  the 
guide  takes  us  down  into  the  vaults  and  shows  us  how 
millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  gold  and  silver  are  stored  there, 

and  guarded  day  and 
night  by  watchmen. 
In  other  rooms  we 
are  shown  piles  of 
crisp  new  bank  notes, 
and  see  hundreds  of 
clerks  who  are  han 
dling  old  and  new 
paper  money.  The 
Treasury  Department 
makes  all  of  our  pa 
per  money. 

The  money  factory 
is  in  that  large 
brick  building  which 
we  can  see  just  be 
yond  the  Washington 
Monument.  Let  us 
visit  it.  We  hear  the  rattle  of  the  machinery  as  we  enter 
the  door,  and  the  guide  takes  us  through  room  after  room 
in  which,  behind  walls  of  iron  latticework,  scores  of  men  and 


Interior  of  the  Treasury  Vaults. 


THE  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT.          41 

women  are  busy  printing  bank  notes.  The  women  wear 
aprons  over  their  dresses,  and  the  men  work  with  their 
shirt  sleeves  rolled  up  to  their  shoulders ;  for  the  printing 
is  dirty  work,  and  every  one  we  see  in  the  press  room  is 
spotted  with  ink.  In  another  place  are  the  engravers,  who 
with  fine  tools  are  cutting  out  of  steel  beautiful  pictures 
such  as  you  see  upon  our  bank  notes ;  and  in  other  places 
there  are  wonderful  engraving  machines. 

How  carefully  everything  is  guarded !  There  are  watch 
men  everywhere,  and  there  are  steel  vaults  in  which  all  of 
the  plates  for  making  the  bank  notes  are  stored  every  night. 
Not  one  of  the  employees  can  leave  the  building  until  every 
note  on  hand  has  been  counted  and  until  every  sheet  of 
paper  and  every  printing  plate  is  known  to  be  in  its  place. 
This  is  to  prevent  counterfeiters  from  getting  the  plates  and 
printing  money  for  themselves. 

As  we  go  through  the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Print 
ing  we  get  some  idea  of  the  wealth  of  our  nation  by  seeing 
the  bank  notes  required  for  its  business.  Notes  represent 
ing  millions  of  dollars  are  printed  here  in  a  day.  We  see 
scores  of  women  who  do  nothing  else  but  count  bank 
notes.  How  fast  they  work !  Their  fingers  go  like  light 
ning.  They  do  not  move  their  lips,  but  they  count  the 
bills  at  the  rate  of  a  hundred  a  minute. 

After  being  counted,  the  notes  are  put  into  a  great  steel 
box  on  wheels  and  are  hauled  to  the  Treasury  Department. 
From  there  they  are  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  country. 
Our  government  never  sends  out  a  bank  note  a  second 
time.  It  is  always  ready  to  exchange  new  bills  for  old 
ones,  and  old  bills  are  never  paid  out  by  the  Treasury  De 
partment. 

But  what  becomes  of  the  old  bank  notes? 

Come  with  me,  and  I  will  show  you.      All  the  old  money 


42  WASHINGTON. 

received  at  the  Treasury  is  destroyed.  The  bank  notes  are 
cut  in  hajves  as  soon  as  they  come  in,  and  are  then  carried 
in  a  closed  steel  wagon  to  the  basement  of  this  money  mill. 

Let  us  walk  down  and  see  what  is  done  with  them.  The 
cut  notes  are  put  into  a  big  round  iron  pot,  in  which  they 
are  ground  up  by  machinery  and  cooked  and  steamed  until 
they  are  turned  into  a  pulpy,  gruel-like  mixture  which 
looks  like  mush.  Sometimes  as  much  as  two  million  dol 
lars'  worth  of  money  is  ground  up  at  one  time.  Think  of 
a  pot  of  mush  made  of  two  million  dollars  in  bank  notes! 
Wouldn't  you  like  a  good  bowl  of  the  meal  before  it  is 
thrown  into  the  kettle?  There  is,  however,  no  chance  to 
get  at  any  of  this  money,  for  the  government  grinds  up 
the  notes  in  order  to  prevent  any  one  stealing  them  and 
using  them  as  money  again. 

It  is  in  the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing  that  all 
of  our  postage  stamps  are  made.  The  process  is  much  the 
same  as  that  of  printing  the  bank  notes,  and  the  postage 
stamps  are  as  carefully  watched  as  the  money,  that  none 
may  be  lost.  After  the  stamps  are  printed  they  are 
gummed  by  machinery.  Then  the  little  holes  are  cut 
around  them  by  wheels,  on  somewhat  the  same  principle  as 
dough  is  cut  in  making  animal  crackers  or  gingerbread 
men. 

At  the  Post  Office  Department  we  learn  something  of 
our  vast  postal  system.  There  are  maps  here  which  show 
the  roads  over  which  the  government  sends  the  letters  and 
papers  that  are  mailed  to  every  part  of  the  United  States 
and  the  world.  Some  letters  miist  be  carried  on  horse 
back  or  in  boats,  and  we  learn  that  the  mail  routes  form 
a  great  network  embracing  every  part  of  our  country. 

But  what  are  those  men  and  women  doing  in  that  office 
there  at  the  side  of  the  hall  ?  They  seem  to  be  opening 


THE    POST    OFFICE    DEPARTMENT.  43 

letters  not  addressed  to  them  nor  to  the  government  offi 
cers.  We  thought  no  one  had  the  right  to  open  a  letter 
not  intended  for  him.  But  see!  the  clerks  here  are  read 
ing  the  letters  and  putting  them  in  new  envelopes  for  mail 
ing  again !  That  is  the  dead-letter  office.  When  a  letter 
is  so  badly  addressed  that  the  postman  cannot  read  the 
writing,  or  when  he  cannot  find  the  person  to  whom  it  is 
directed,  that  letter  is  called  dead. 

Such  letters  are  forwarded  to  the  Post  Office  Department, 
where  the  clerks  open  them  and,  when  possible,  send  them 
back  to  the  writers.  There  are  thousands  of  such  letters 
received  every  day ;  and  we  learn  that  some  people  are  so 
careless  about  their  money  that  more  than  a  million  dollars 
is  put  into  the  mails  every  year  in  letters  so  badly  ad 
dressed  that  they  go  to  the  dead-letter  office.  In  some 
cases  not  even  the  signatures  of  the  writers  can  be  made 
out,  and  the  money  and  letters  are  lost  to  their  owners. 

Just  across  from  the  Post  Office  Department  is  the  great 
marble  building  of  the  Interior  Department.  This  depart 
ment  has  to  do  with  the  public  lands  of  the  United  States, 
with  education,  with  patents,  with  the  pensions  paid  to  our 
soldiers,  and  various  other  matters. 

In  the  Patent  Office  we  see  models  and  drawings  of  in 
ventions  made  by  Americans.  The  Americans  are  the 
greatest  inventors  in  the  world.  It  is  said  that  more  than 
two  fifths  of  the  most  important  inventions  ever  made  have 
originated  in  our  country,  and  more  than  twenty-five  thou 
sand  patents  for  new  things  are  taken  out  every  year. 
These  inventions  are  of  all  kinds.  They  range  in  size  from 
pills  as  big  as  the  head  of  a  pin  to  balloons  almost  as  large 
as  the  dome  of  the  Capitol,  and  in  complexity  of  mechan 
ism  from  collar  buttons  to  steam  engines. 

It  is  strange  how  much  some  of  the  little  things  have 


44  WASHINGTON. 

paid  their  inventors.  When  a  thing  is  patented,  no  one, 
until  after  a  certain  time,  can  make  it  without  the  permis 
sion  of  the  inventor.  He  can  charge  what  he  pleases  for 
the  right  to  manufacture  it ;  and  one  of  the  great  lessons 
of  the  Patent  Office  is  that  we  should  not  despise  the  little 
things.  The  patent  for  the  rubber  tip  on  the  end  of  your 


Interior  of  the  Patent  Office. 

pencil,  for  instance,  was  worth  more  than  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  to  the  man  who  first  thought  of  it.  The 
gimlet-pointed  screw  brought  one  inventor  a  vast  sum  of 
money,  and  the  man  who  first  thought  of  putting  copper 
tips  on  the  toes  of  children's  shoes  grew  rich  out  of  that 
idea.  The  inventor  of  the  roller  skate  is  said  to  have 
received  many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  from  his 


BALTIMORE.  45 

patent.  Patents  for  different  kinds  of  building  blocks 
have  made  their  owners  much  money,  and  the  man  who 
invented  the  return  ball  with,  a  rubber  string  attached  to 
pull  it  back  received  a  large  income  for  some  time  from 
this  patent. 

The  Interior  Department  has  also  charge  of  the  Census 
Bureau.  Every  ten  years  men  employed  by  this  bureau 
count  all  the  people  in  our  country,  and  find  out  all  about 
them,  so  that  we  here  can  learn  just  how  many  people 
there  are  in  the  United  States  and  what  they  are  doing. 

At  the  Agricultural  Department  we  are  shown  a  room 
filled  with  glass  cases  containing  every  variety  of  apples, 
peaches,  grapes,  oranges,  pineapples,  and  many  other  kinds 
of  fruit.  They  look  so  delicious  that  we  feel  like  eating 
them  until  we  learn  that  they  are  made  of  wax  and  painted 
to  represent  fruits.  There  are  also  many  kinds  of  nuts 
shown  here,  and  we  see  specimens  of  all  the  things  grown 
in  our  country,  from  the  cotton  and  tobacco  and  rich  fruits 
of  the  tropics  to  the  hardiest  products  of  the  temperate 
zone. 


V.  BALTIMORE  AND  OUR  OYSTER  BEDS. 

WE  leave  Washington  this  morning,  on  our  way  to 
New  York.    It  is  less  than  six  hours'  ride  on  the  cars 
from  one  city  to  the  other,  but  the  country  through  which 
we  travel  is  one  of  the  most  thickly  populated  sections  of 
the   United   States,  and  we  shall  pass  quite  large  cities 
every  few  miles.    We  reach  Baltimore  in  less  than  an  hour. 
Baltimore  is  a  great  commercial  center.    It  is  at  the  head 
of  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  we  find  big  ocean  steamers  at  the 
wharves  of  the  city,  and  see  grain,  flour,  tobacco,  and  other 


46 


BALTIMORE. 


products  taken  from  the  cars  and  loaded  upon  ships  to  be 
carried  to  Europe,  South  America,  and  other  countries. 

When  Washington  city  was  laid  out  Baltimore  had  al 
ready  eight  thousand  people  and  was  considered  one  of 
the  chief  towns  of  the  country.  It  now  contains  about  three 
quarters  of  a  million  people,  and  it  has  so  many  streets  that  if 


The  Cathedral  at  Baltimore. 

they  were  stretched  out  in  one  long  line  they  would  reach 
almost  from  New  York  to  Chicago.  We  visit  the  cathe 
dral,  the  first  built  in  the  United  States,  Druid  Hill  Park, 
and  the  Johns  Hopkins  University.  Then  we  take  a  look 
at  the  monument  which  the  Baltimore  people  have  put  up 
in  honor  of  Washington.  It  seems  quite  small  after  see 
ing  the  huge  structure  in  the  national  capital. 


CHESAPEAKE    BAY — OYSTER    FARMS.  47 

We  find  ourselves  quite  hungry  after  our  rapid  tour 
through  the  city,  and  resolve  to  take  a  lunch  at  the  station 
before  we  go  on  to  Philadelphia. 

What  shall  we  eat  ? 

We  order  oysters,  for  Baltimore  is  the  greatest  oyster 
market  in  the  United  States.  More  than  one  third  of  all 
the  oysters  of  the  world  are  grown  in  the  waters  of  Chesa 
peake  Bay,  and  there  are  in  Baltimore  many  thousand  men 
and  women  who  do  nothing  but  take  the  oysters  out  of 
their  shells  in  order  that  they  may  be  shipped  in  tubs  and 
cans  to  different  parts  of  our  country.  The  Americans  eat 
more  oysters  than  are  eaten  by  the  people  of  any  other 
nation.  From  the  number  that  we  consume  every  year, 
a  dozen  might  be  given  to  every  man,  woman,  and  child 
on  the  globe,  and  there  would  be  still  some  to  spare. 

The  oysters  shipped  from  Baltimore  are  found  in  the 
shallow  waters  along  the  coast  of  Chesapeake  Bay.  They 
grow  also  in  some  other  salt  waters  of  the  United  States, 
but  there  are  more  good  oysters  in  Chesapeake  Bay  than 
anywhere  else.  Most  of  the  oysters  here  grow  of  them 
selves ;  but  there  are  also  oyster  farms — places  in  the  bay 
or  at  the  mouths  of  the  rivers  where  the  oyster  eggs  are 
put,  and  shells  thrown  into  the  water,  to  which  the  young 
oysters  can  fasten  themselves  and  grow  shells  of  their  own. 

Oysters  grow  in  this  way  for  four  or  five  years  before 
they  are  big  enough  to  be  eaten.  The  eggs  from  which 
they  are  hatched  are  so  small  that  you  cannot  see  them 
with  the  naked  eye.  It  is  said  that  one  oyster  will  lay 
more  than  a  million  eggs  in  a  season. 

When  an  oyster  is  hatched  it  is  as  small  as  the  point  of 
a  fine  needle.  It  looks  like  a  little  white  dot.  It  at  once 
fastens  itself  to  a  piece  of  stone  or  shell  or  anything  it  can 
find  which  is  hard.  It  soon  gets  to  be  as  big  as  the  head 


48 


BALTIMORE. 


of  a  pin,  and  so  increases  in  size  that  when  it  is  a  year  old 
it  is  as  large  as  a  silver  twenty-five-cent  piece..  After  this 
it  grows  about  an  inch  a  year  for  from  four  to  six  years, 
when  it  is  full  grown.  You  can  tell  how  old  an  oyster  is 
by  its  shell.  The  layers  upon  it  show  the  number  of  years 


Oyster  Dredging. 

it  has  lived.  The  shell  grows  thicker  and  thicker  year 
after  year.  Shells  have  been  found  which  were  nine  inches 
thick,  and  some  scientists  claim  there  are  oysters  which 
have  lived  one  hundred  years. 

The  oysters  are  gathered  during  the  fall  and  winter  by 
men  who  sail  in  big  boats  over  the  beds  where  the  oysters 
lie.  The  oystermen  have  long  rakes,  which  they  push 
down  into  the  water  and  thus  drag  up  the  oysters.  Some 
times  they  use  dredges,  or  great  shovels  worked  by  ma 
chinery,  which  scoop  the  oysters  out  of  the  bottom  of 
the  bay. 


OYSTERS.  49 

But  here  come  our  oysters.  They  are  brought  in  on  the 
half-shell,  and  we  see  that  there  are  two  parts  to  an  oyster 
shell.  One  part  is  hollow  and  the  other  is  flat.  In  the 
hollow  portion  lies  the  liquor  which  is  the  life  blood  of  the 
oyster,  and  if  it  were  not  for  this  it  is  said  the  oyster  would 
die.  At  the  back  of  the  shell  we  see  the  hinges  by  which 
the  two  parts  are  kept  together. 

What  queer-looking  things  these  oysters  are  as  they  lie 
before  us  on  the  shells !  They  have  mouths,  but  no  heads. 
The  mouth  of  the  oyster  is  in  the  narrowest  portion  of  the 
body.  It  is  merely  a  hole  in  the  skin,  for  the  oyster  has 
neither  tongue  nor  teeth.  The  mouth  has  four  thin  lips, 
and  the  oyster  gets  its  food  by  filtering  the  water  which 
it  takes  into  its  mouth  through  them.  It  has  no  nose 
and  no  eyes ;  but  scientists  say  that  oysters  will  close  up 
their  shells  if  a  shadow  passes  over  the  water  above  them  ; 
hence  they  must  have  some  way  of  knowing  what  is  going 
on  about  them.  The  oyster  has  lungs  and  a  heart.  Its 
stomach  is  a  little  bag  which  lies  just  behind  the  mouth. 
As  we  think  of  these  things  we  almost  hesitate  to  let  the 
oyster  slip  down  our  throats.  We  try  one,  however.  The 
delicious  taste  takes  away  our  scruples,  and  we  find  our 
selves  eatine  a  second  dozen  before  we  are  satisfied. 


50  PHILADELPHIA. 


VI.     IN    PHILADELPHIA  — A    VISIT   TO    THK 
MINT. 

A   CAR  ride  of  less  than   three   hours   brings   us  from 
Baltimore   to  Philadelphia.      We  pass  the  manufac 
turing  city  of  Wilmington,  Delaware;  and  long  before  we 
reach  Philadelphia  itself  we  see  great  factories,  and  learn 
that   we   are  in  one  of  our  chief  manufacturing  centers. 
There  is  only  one   city  in  the   country  which   has   more 
manufacturing  establishments  than  Phil 
adelphia,  and  that  is  New  York.     There 
are  more  than  two  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  men  and  women  in  Philadel 
phia  who  make  things  to  sell.     Thou 
sands  are  busy  weaving  woolen  cloths 
and  making  clothing.      There  are  thou 
sands  of  men   building  ships,  and  our 
wniiam  Penn  greatest  naval  vessels  are   made  here. 

Other  thousands  are  making  goods  of 
iron  and  steel ;  and  we  learn  that  the  United  States  has 
become  the  greatest  manufacturing  country  in  the  world. 
After  our  country  was  first  settled  the  most  of  the  peo 
ple  were  farmers.  They  raised  things  from  the  soil.  As 
more  people  came,  some  of  them  began  to  make  things  to 
sell.  This  has  gone  on  until  now  one  man  out  of  every 
five  in  the  United  States  is  engaged  in  manufacturing. 
We  have  now  twelve  times  as  many  factories  as  we  had 
forty  years  ago,  and  a  vast  amount  of  money  is  spent  every 
year  in  paying  the  wages  of  the  men  who  work  in  them. 
If  we  could  see  all  the  workmen  of  the  world,  we  should 
learn  that  our  people  are  better  fed,  and  better  clothed, 
and  have  better  houses  than  those  of  any  other  nation. 


MANUFACTURES. 


5 


We  find  this  especially  so  in  Philadelphia.  We  walk  for 
miles  through  long  streets  of  small  but  neat  houses  made 
of  red  brick  with  steps  of  white  marble.  There  are  thou 
sands  of  such  houses  here  belonging  to  the  working  peo 
ple,  and  it  is  said  that  more  people  own  their  own  homes 
in  Philadelphia  than  in  any  other  large  city  of  the  world. 

But  why  has  Philadelphia  become  a  great  manufacturing 
city? 

One  reason  is  because  it  is  so  situated  that  materials  can 
be  cheaply  brought  to  it  and  the  manufactured  goods 
shipped  from  it  to  other  parts  of  the  United  States.  The 
slopes  of  the  Appala 
chian  range  are  such 
that  railroads  have  been 
built  from  Philadelphia 
through  the  passes  of 
the  Alleghany  Moun 
tains,  thus  giving  it  an 
easy  road  to  the  lands 
farther  wrest.  It  is  also 


a  seaport,  although  it  is 

one  hundred  miles  from 

the     Atlantic     Ocean. 

Large   steamships    can 

sail  up  Delaware  Bay  to 

Philadelphia,    bringing 

the     materials     people 

want    to    use    in    their 

shops,     and      carrying 

their    manufactures    to 

all  parts  of  the   world.      The   Schuylkill   River  furnishes 

Philadelphia  with  water  power  for  manufacturing  purposes, 

and  the  city  lies  so  near  the  coal  lands  of  Pennsylvania  that 


Independence  Hall. 


PHILADELPHIA. 


the  fuel  for  steam  power  costs  very  little.  Not  far  from 
it  are  the  largest  beds  of  anthracite  coal  to  be  found  any 
where.  This  coal  makes  a  great  heat  and  is  very  valuable 
for  manufacturing.  It  is  so  hard  that  people  for  a  long 
time  did  not  think  it  would  burn,  one  noted  man  saying 
that  if  the  world  were  burned  up  this  would  be  the  very 
last  thing  that  would  catch  fire. 

Philadelphia  is  one  of  the  oldest  cities  in  this  country  ;  it 
was  founded  by  the  Quakers  under  William  Penn  ;  and  for 
ten  years,  from  1790  to  1800,  it  was  the  capital  of  the 
United  States. 


J, 


•:r::'1fl."JrilM  '•  >l"l  0|  M MM  ','   v  1  -'    °,"'    " 

^«ffi?iffl^aig  t 

-• I'a-tlhlDHtt.  i    uti    *  n.- 


1 


Mpi^  <;p  Ife  '^ll 


City  Hall,  Philadelphia 


We  visit  Independence  Hall,  where  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  was  signed.  Then  we  walk  through  the 
city  hall,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  beautiful  buildings  in 


FRANKLIN THE    MINT.  53 

the  United  States.  Upon  its  tower  there  is  a  bronze  statue 
of  Penn  which  was  made  by  Philadelphia  workmen,  and  is 
one  of  the  largest  statues  in  the  world.  It  does  not  seem 
very  big  as  we  look  at  it  from  the  ground,  but  it  is  really 
as  tall  as  a  three-story  house,  and  the  buttons  on  the  coat 
are  half  a  foot  across. 

During  our  tour  through  the  city  we  stop  for  a  moment 
at  the  grave  of  Benjamin  Franklin.      It  is  in  the  little  grave 
yard  of  Christ  Church,  in  the  midst  of  the  hum  and  hurry 
of  the  busy  city,  and  is  marked  by  a  plain 
marble  slab.     It  was  in  Philadelphia  that 
Benjamin  Franklin  lived  the  greater  part 
of  his  life.     He  was  born  in  Boston,  and 
learned  there  the  trade  of  a  printer.     He 
came  to  -Philadelphia  as  a  boy  to  find 
work,  and  his  first  meal  in  the  city  was 
made  of  a  loaf  of  bread  which  he  bought 
and  ate  as  he  walked  through  the  streets. 
H$  afterwards  became  a  great  man  and       Benjamin  Franklin, 
was  of  much  service  to  the  United  States. 

When  Franklin  first  came  here,  Philadelphia  was  larger 
than  New  York.  It  was  the  biggest  city  in  the  United 
States  until  the  Erie  Canal  was  built.  This  made  New 
York  grow  so  fast  that  she  soon  got  ahead  of  Philadelphia, 
and  Philadelphia  is  now  smaller  than  either  New  York  or 
Chicago.  It  has,  however,  more  than  fifteen  hundred  thou 
sand  people,  and  it  has  many  beautiful  buildings. 

We  visit  the  mint,  where  most  of  our  gold,  silver,  and 
copper  money  is  made.  There  are  several  other  mints  in 
the  United  States,  but  the  Philadelphia  mint  is  the  oldest. 
It  was  founded  during  the  presidency  of  George  Washing 
ton,  and  it  coins  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  gold  and  sil 
ver  every  year.  It  is  situated  in  the  heart  of  Philadelphia, 


54  PHILADELPHIA. 

not  far  from  the  city  hall.  There  are  guards  at  the  door, 
and  visitors  are  carefully  watched  as  they  are  taken  from 
room  to  room  and  shown  the  processes  of  coining  money. 
During  our  tour  the  superintendent  of  the  mint  goes 
with  us.  He  takes  us  down  into  the  vaults  and  shows  us 
where  the  gold  and  silver  metal  and  coin  are  stored  away. 


Interior  of  Money  Vaults,  Philadelphia  Mint. 

In  one  vault  we  see  millions  of  silver  dollars  tied  up  in 
bags,  and  stacked  up  against  the  wall  like  so  much  corn. 
In  a  smaller  vault  we  are  shown  piles  of  gold  bricks. 
They  are  laid  up  in  regular  order  in  different  parts  of  the 
vault.  They  are,  as  a  rule,  about  the  size  of  a  cake  of 
kitchen  soap,  and  they  do  not  look  very  heavy. 

The  superintendent  asks  us  to  lift  one  of  them,  and  we 


THE    MINT.  55 

find  our  backs  almost  broken  by  the  effort  to  raise  it. 
Each  brick  weighs  forty  pounds,  or  as  much  as  a  six-year- 
old  boy.  In  other  vaults  we  are  shown  quantities  of  silver 
bullion,  the  bricks  of  which  are  larger  and  heavier  than 
those  of  the  gold  vaults,  and  we  learn  that  from  these  gold 
and  silver  bricks  our  money  is  made. 

In  going  through  the  mint  we  are  taken  into  a  room 
where  they  are  melting  the  gold,  and  the  superintendent 
shows  us  how  copper  and  other  metals  are  put  with  it  into 
the  melting  pot,  in  order  that  the  money  may  be  harder 
and  wear  better.  The  gold  we  saw  in  the  bricks  was  so 
soft  that  we  could  scratch  it  with  our  finger  nails.  It  was 
pure  gold,  and  the  superintendent  tells  us  that  coins  made 
of  pure  gold  would  soon  wear  away,  and  that  a  pure  gold 
wedding  ring  would  hardly  outlast  the  honeymoon. 

The  gold  bricks,  having  been  melted,  are  cast  into 
ingots.  Ingots  are  long  gold  wedges.  They  are  about  as 
wide  as  a  twenty- dollar  gold  piece,  and  are  a  little  more 
than  a  foot  long  and  two  inches  thick.  It  is  from  them 
that  the  gold  coins  are  made. 

As  we  go  on  into  the  silver-melting  room  we  see  that 
the  silver  for  the  silver  dollars  is  also  cast  into  strips  of  the 
same  kind.  We  see  a  man  wheeling  a  box  of  these  silver 
ingots  out  of  the  room,  and  follow  him  along  the  hall  to 
see  the  ingots  made  into  dollars.  We  still  have  the  idea 
that  our  coins  are  made  by  casting,  the  gold  and  silver 
being  melted  and  turned  into  molds  just  as  in  the  making 
of  bullets,  save  that,  when  the  molds  are  opened,  out  drop 
gold  dollars  and  silver  dollars  instead  of  balls  of  lead. 

We  soon  find,  however,  that  our  coins  are  not  made  in 
that  way.  They  are  stamped  out  of  cold  metal,  and  ma 
chines  with  an  enormous  pressure  put  upon  their  faces  the 
beautiful  images  of  the  goddess  of  liberty  and  the  Ameri- 

CARP.    N.    AM.— 4 


5.6 


PHILADELPHIA. 


can  eagle.  The  silver  ingots  are  first  rolled  between  cyl 
inders  of  steel  so  graduated  that  the  ingots  grow  thinner 
and  thinner  as  they  are  pulled  through  them,  until  they  are 
at  last  just  a  little  wider  and  about  as  thick  as  a  silver  dol 
lar.  They  have  been  so  stretched  out  by  the  process 
that  they  are  like  long  bands  of  hoop  iron  rather  than 
like  chisels  or  wedges.  These  bands  or  strips  are  now 
run  under  a  vertical  steel  punch  which  cuts  out  of  them 
round  pieces  of  silver  of  just  the  size  of  a  dollar.  These 

are  the  blanks  of  which 
the  dollars  are  to  be 
made. 

It  is  very  important 
that  each  coin  should 
have  the  right  amount 
of  silver  in  it,  so  each 
blank  is  weighed  before 
it  is  stamped.  After 
weighing  it  is  taken 
down  into  the  basement 
of  the  mint,  and,  with 
thousands  of  other 
blanks,  is  shoveled  into 
a  vat  of  acid,  which 
soon  eats  the  dirt  off  of 
it.  It  is  then  dried  and 
taken  upstairs  to  be 
coined. 

The  coining  is  done 
by  what  is  known  as  the 

coining  machine.  The  silver  blanks  are  fed  through  a  long 
tube  into  a  machine  which  drops  them  between  two  dies. 
The  upper  die  bears  the  picture  of  the  goddess  of  liberty, 


A  Coining  Machine. 


NEW   YORK. 


57 


and  the  lower  that  of  the  American  eagle  and  the  lettering 
which  you  find  on  the  silver  dollar.  As  the  coin  lies  there 
the  two  dies  come  together,  exerting  an  enormous  pres 
sure,  and  stamping  the  beautiful  impressions  which  you 
see  on  our  silver  coins. 

Gold  coins  are  made  in  the  same  way,  and  pennies  are 
manufactured  by  the  thousands  in  much  the  same  manner. 

Leaving  the  mint,  we  take  a  run  out  to  Fairmount  Park, 
where  the  Centennial  Exhibition  was  held,  to  have  a  look 
at  the  Zoological  Garden.  We  visit  Girard  College,  which 
was  founded  by  a  rich  man  for  the  education  of  poor 
boys ;  and  then,  after  a  meal  at  the  magnificent  railroad 
station  at  Broad  Street,  we  take  the  train  for  New  York. 


VII.     NEW    YORK    AND    SOME    OF    ITS 
WONDERS. 

IN  coming  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York,  the  railroad 
train    brings    us    only  to    the   banks    of    the    Hudson 
River  at  Jersey  City.      Here  we  step  from  the  cars  into  a 
ferry  boat,  so  big  that  it  could  not  be  squeezed  into  the 
average  city  street.      It  has  enormous  steam  engines  upon 


NEW   YORK, 


it,  which  push  it  through  the  water.      There  are  dozens 

of  carts  and  wagons,  and  hundreds  of  men,  women,  and 

children  with  us  as  ferry  passengers.      We  are  soon  across 

the  river;    the  bell   rings  as  we 
^  come  to  the  wharf,  and  we  are 

landed  on  the  island  of  Manhat 
tan,  in  the  busiest  part  of  New 
York. 

We  are  now  in  the  biggest  city 
of  our  hemisphere.  New  York 
contains  more  than  four  millions 
of  people,  and  it  is,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  London,  the  largest 
city  on  the  globe.  It  is  hard  for 
us  to  realize  how  big  New  York 

is.      It  grows  upon  us  at  every  step  as  we  travel  through 

it.      Wre  ask  for  a  hotel,  and   hardly  know  which   one  to 

choose  when  we  find  that  there  are  so  many  in  New  York 

that  we  could  lodge  in  a  different 

place  every  night  for  more  than 

three  years  without  going  out  of 

the  city. 

The    business    sections   are   so 

crowded  with  street  cars,  wagons, 

and   carts  that  \ve  have  to  ask  a 

policeman  to  help  us  from  one  side 

of  the  street  to  the  other.    We  see 

policemen  at  nearly  every  street 

corner.     They  are  dressed  in  blue 

uniforms,  and  have  silver  badges 

on  the  breasts  of  their  coats.    With  a  motion  of  their  hands 

to  the  drivers  they  hold  back  the  wagons  for  us,  and  we 

learn  that  it  takes  thousands  of  such  men  to  keep  order 


A  New  York  Policeman. 


A  (;KEAT  COMMERCIAL  cirv.  59 

here.  At  first  we  determine  to  see  the  whole  city,  but 
find  that  it  has  so  many  streets  that  it  would  take  weeks 
for  us  to  walk  through  them,  and  we  give  up  the  plan  in 
despair. 

But  before  we  go  on,  let  us  stop  a  moment  and  think 
just  where  New  York  is;  for  it  is  its  situation  that  has 
made  it  so  great.  The  main  portion  of  the  city  is  on  the 
island  of  Manhattan,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson  River. 
But  it  also  includes  a  portion  of  the  mainland  north  of 
Manhattan,  the  boroughs  of  Queens  and  Brooklyn  on 
Long  Island,  and  the  whole  of  Staten  Island.  New  York 
Bay,  which  is  partly  inclosed  by  the  city,  is  one  of  the 
best  and  largest  harbors  in  the  world. 

The  easiest  and  cheapest  route  from  the  sea  to  the  inte 
rior  of  the  United  States  begins  at  New  York.  This  route 
is  by  the  M.ohawk  Valley,  through  which  the  Mohawk 
River  flows  into  the  Hudson.  Some  of  our  greatest  rail 
roads  are  built  through  this  low  valley.  The  slope  of  the 
route  over  the  Appalachian  highlands  is  so  slight  that 
freight  has  to  be  lifted  much  less  upon  it  than  upon  the 
routes  across  the  mountains  farther  south.  It  is  for  this 
reason  that  goods  can  be  sent  more  cheaply  from  the  East 
and  from  Europe  to  the  interior  of  our  country  by  way  of 
New  York  than  by  any  other  route.  New  York  is  also 
connected  with  the  Great  Lakes  by  the  Hudson  River  and 
the  Erie  Canal,  so  that  the  vast  farming  regions  of  the 
United  States  lying  about  and  beyond  these  lakes  can  send 
their  crops  by  water  to  New  York  to  be  shipped  to  Europe. 

The  island  of  Manhattan  is  less  than  fourteen  miles  long, 
and  so  narrow  that  you  could  walk  from  one  side  of  it  to 
the  other  at  almost  any  point  in  less  than  an  hour.  Its 
form  makes  you  think  of  a  poorly  laid-out  baseball  ground. 
It  is  in  the  shape  of  an  irregular  diamond,  squeezed  in 


6o 


NEW   YORK. 


between  two  rivers,  its  lowermost  point  extending"  out  into 
New  York  Bay. 

It  is  at  the  lower  part  of  this  island  that  we  land.      The 
ground  here  is  so  valuable  that  you  would  have  to  cover 
it  with   gold  dollars   to   buy  it.      This  island    is   now  one 
of  the  most  valuable  pieces  of  prop 
erty  in  the  world,  and  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  the  gold  mines  of  the  whole 
world  could  not  in  one  year  produce 
money  enough  to  purchase  it. 

What  do  you  think  the  Indians 
got  for  it? 

They  sold  it  for  twenty-four  dol 
lars.  They  did  not  think  it  worth 
much,  for  it  was  hard  to  get  at  with 
their  little  canoes.  So  when  some 
men  from  Holland  came  to  Amer 
ica,  not  quite  three  hundred  years 
ago,  and  built  a  fort  here,  they 
found  the  Indians  not  unwilling  to 

sell.  The  savages  did  not  then  know  what  money  meant, 
and  they  took  their  pay  in  a  lot  of  beads,  buttons,  and  other 
small  trinkets. 

The  Dutchmen  from  Holland  built  a  little  town  upon  the 
island  and  called  it  New  Amsterdam.  It  kept  that  name 
until  the  place  was  taken  by  the  English,  when  it  was 
named  New  York.  It  was  already  the  second  city  of  the 
United  States  at  the  time  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  signed.  After  the  Erie  Canal  was  opened,  however, 
New  York  grew  so  rapidly  that  it  soon  became  bigger  than 
any  other  of  our  cities,  and  it  has  been  the  chief  American 
city  from  then  until  now.  It  will  probably,  in  the  course 
of  a  few  years,  be  the  largest  city  on  the  globe. 


Manhattan  Island. 


BROADWAY. 


61 


We  spend  some  time  on  Broadway.  This  is  the  main 
business  street  of  New  York.  It  is  one  of  the  liveliest  and 
noisiest  streets  in  the  world.  What  a  crush  and  jam  there  is 
everywhere !  Every  one  is  on  the  rush,  and  we  are  jostled 
and  pushed  this  way  and  that  as  we  join  the  hurrying 
crowd.  The  sidewalks  are  fairly  black  with  men,  women, 
and  children,  who 
are  moving  along, 
paying  no  attention 
•to  any  one  but 
themselves.  The 
roadway  is  blocked 
with  moving  cars 
and  wagons,  the 
drivers  of  which  are 
scolding  at  one  an 
other. 

How  very  high 
the  buildings  are ! 
They  are  so  tall 
that  you  could  not 
shoot  an  arrow  up 
to  their  roofs. 
Some  are  from 
twelve  to  twenty 

and     even    twenty-  A  Scene  on  Broadway. 

five    stories    high, 

and  in  some  single  buildings  in  New  York  there  are  more 
men  doing  business  than  there  are  people  in  a  large  coun 
try  village. 

These  big  office  buildings  are  furnished  like  palaces. 
You  walk  through  them  upon  floors  of  marble.  Numerous 
elevators  are  moving  up  and  down  from  one  story  to  an- 


62  NEW   YORK. 

other,  carrying  the  hundreds  of  people.  Some  of  the 
buildings  have  post  offices  in  them.  They  have  boot 
blacks'  rooms  and  barber  shops,  and  many  have  restaurants 
in  the  topmost  story,  higher  than  the  spire  of  the  tallest 
church  steeple. 

Everything  is  business  here.      Upon  all  sides  of  us  there 
are    great    wholesale    establishments.     There    are    stores 

everywhere.  There  are 
even  stores  in  the  base 
ments;  and  as  we  go 
through  the  side  streets 
we  find  that  thousands 
of  people  of  New  York- 
work  in  cellars,  making 
all  kinds  of  goods  under 
ground. 

WTe  walk  up  Broad 
way  past  the  City  Hall 
Square,  about  which 
some  of  the  big  news 
paper  buildings  stand, 
and  then  turn  and  go 
back  a  few  blocks  down 
the  street  until  we  come 

Trinity  Church. 

to  Trinity  Church,  one  of 

the  oldest  and  most  beautiful  buildings  in  the  United  States. 
It  is  made  of  brownstone,  and  there  is  a  large  churchyard 
about  it,  in  which  are  the  tombstones  of  some  of  the  most 
famous  Americans  of  the  past.  The  churchyard  is  a 
beautiful  place  filled  with  flowers  and  trees,  and  it  seems 
strangely  peaceful  in  contrast  with  the  pushing  throng  on 
Broadway. 

We  enter,  and   stand   for  a   moment   by   the   tomb   of 


TRINITY   CHURCHYARD. 


Robert  Fulton.  He  was  the  man  who  made  the  Clermont, 
the  first  steamboat  that  sailed  on  the  Hudson  River. 
The  Clermont  made  its  first  trip  from  New  York  to  Albany 
in  1807.  Its  voyage  proved  that  the  steamship  could  be 
made  a  commercial 
success,  and  Rob 
ert  Fulton  may  be 
called  the  father  of 
the  thousands  of 
steamships  which 
now  come  to  New 
York  every  year. 

Near  him  in  the 
old  churchyard  lies 
Capt.  James  Law 
rence,  the  hero  of 
the  frigate  Chesa 
peake,  whose  famous 
"  Don't  give  up  the 
Ship "  immortal 
ized  his  memory ; 
and  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  yard  we 
see  the  white  marble 

monument  under  which  lie  the  remains  of  Alexander 
Hamilton,  one  of  the  founders  of  our  government,  who 
was  shot  by  Aaron  Burr  in  a  duel. 

Leaving  the  churchyard,  we  cross  Broadway  and  take 
a  walk  down  one  of  the  most  wonderful  streets  in  the 
world.  We  are  in  Wall  Street,  and  all  about  us  are  the 
buildings  which  contain  the  offices  of  the  men  who  own 
and  control  much  of  the  wealth  of  the  United  States. 

Wall  Street  may  be  called  the  money  capital  of  our 


Wall  Street. 


64  NEW   YORK. 

country.  The  greatest  of  our  railroads  are  managed  from 
here.  Here  is  the  Stock  Exchange,  where  all  kinds  of 
stocks  are  bought  and  sold.  By  stocks,  you  know,  are 
meant  shares  in  different  business  companies,  such  as  rail 
roads,  steamships,  telegraphs,  and  telephones.  The  prices 
of  stocks  sometimes  change  very  quickly  for  a  variety  of 
reasons,  and  men  make  and  lose  fortunes  in  buying  and 
selling  them.  It  is  in  the  Stock  Exchange  that  such  busi 
ness  is  done. 

We  are  admitted  to  the  gallery  of  the  building,  and  we 
look  down  upon  one  of  the  most  curious  sights  in  the 
world.  In  the  big  room  below  us  there  are  hundreds  of 
well-dressed  men,  some  with  hats  on,  and  some  with  none, 
running  to  and  fro,  pulling  and  yelling  at  one  another. 
They  are  the  bankers  and  brokers  who  are  the  members  of 
the  exchange.  It  costs  each  of  them  twenty  thousand 
dollars  for  the  privilege  of  buying  and  selling  here.  Each 
has  a  little  notebook  in  one  hand  and  a  pencil  in  the  other, 
and  with  these  he  jots  down  his  purchases  and  sales. 
Telegraph  boys  rush  in  and  out  through  the  crowd,  and 
the  sight  makes  us  think  of  a  lot  of  madmen  rather  than 
a  body  of  sensible  people.  An  enormous  business  is  done, 
and  billions  of  dollars  change  hands  on  that  floor  every 
year. 

Near  by  we  find  the  Produce  Exchange,  where  grain  of 
all  kinds  is  bought  and  sold.  New  York  is  one  of  the  chief 
grain  markets  of  the  world,  and  in  this  exchange  wheat, 
corn,  and  oats  are  not  sold  by  the  bushel,  but  by  the 
thousands  of  bushels.  The  smallest  amount  you  can  buy 
or  sell  is  five  thousand  bushels,  and  so  much  changes  hands 
that  millions  of  bushels  are  often  bought  in  one  day.  We 
next  visit  the  Cotton  Exchange,  where  men  buy  and  sell 
cotton  in  large  quantities ;  and  our  heads  fairly  swim  as 


OUR    FOREIGN    COMMERCE.  65 

we  try  to  understand  the  vast  sums  which  it  takes  to  man 
age  the  business  of  this  one  city  of  our  country. 

We  are,  in  fact,  anxious  to  get  out  of  the  bustle,  and  we 
walk  down  a  side  street  to  rest  our  eyes  and  ears  before 
taking  the  Broadway  cable  cars  to  make  our  way  farther 
uptown  to  the  hotel  where  we- shall  stop  overnight. 


VIII.     OUR    FOREIGN    COMMERCE. 

THE  largest  hotels  of  New  York  are  in  the  middle  of 
the  island  of  Manhattan,  several  miles  above  the 
point  where  we  first  reached  Broadway.  The  one  in  which 
we  stay  overnight  is 
not  far  from  Herald 
Square,  and  when  we 
start  out  in  the  morn 
ing  we  are  in  the  heart 
of  one  of  the  great 
shopping  districts. 
Broadway  is  here  al 
most  as  busy  as  it 
is  down  at  Trinity 
Church,  and  the  side 
streets  leading  to  it 
are  so  lined  with  store 
windows  that  passing 
through  them  is  like 
goingthrough  a  huge 
museum  walled  with 
glass  cases. 


Goods  of  all  kinds 


Hotel  Waldorf-Astoria,  New  York. 


66  NEW    YORK. 

are  here  spread  out  before  us,  and  we  see  that  every  nation 
of  the  world  has  sent  its  products  to  New  York  for  sale. 
Those  bright- colored  silks  over  there  came  from  China. 
They  were  woven  on  rude  looms  by  yellow-skinned,  slant- 
eyed  men  and  women  upon  the  banks  of  the  Yangtze 
Kiang.  They  were  brought  to  America  on  a  steamship 
through  the  Indian  Ocean,  by  way  of  the  Red  Sea  and 
the  Suez  Canal.  They  crossed  the  Mediterranean,  passed 
through  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar,  and  thence  to  New  York. 
Those  rich  velvets  and  laces  were  carried  over  the  Atlan 
tic  Ocean  from  Europe ;  and  those  large  diamonds  which 
you  see  in  that  jewelry  store  were  dug  by  black-skinned, 
half-naked  men  in  the  mines  of  South  Africa. 

There  is  a  tea  store  which  is  supplied  by  the  bushes 
which  grow  on  the  Himalaya  Mountains  in  northern  India 
and  by  the  tea  gardens  of  Japan  and  China.  Next  to  it 
is  a  shop  where  you  can  buy  coffee  from  Brazil  and  sugar 
from  Cuba.  That  toy  store  has  many  French  dolls,  and 
curious  mechanical  playthings  which  were  made  in  the 
mountains  of  Germany  ;  and  that  tiger-skin  rug  which  you 
see  in  the  window  next  door  once  covered  the  body  of  a 
beast  that  prowled  through  the  jungles  of  northern  Hindu 
stan.  There  are  other  things  all  about  us  from  every  part 
of  the  world,  and  we  resolve  to  go  to  the  wharves  and  see 
the  great  ships  which  bring  these  things  into  our  country. 

But  let  us  take  a  ride  to  the  lower  part  of  the  island. 
New  York  is  so  crowded  that  it  takes  the  surface  electric 
cars  a  long  time  to  make  their  way  from  one  end  of  it  to 
the  other.  To  accomplish  the  journey  more  quickly  tun 
nels  have  been  dug  in  subways  far  down  under  some  of 
the  streets,  in  which  fast  trains  run,  and  elevated  railroads 
have  been  built  high  above  the  roadways.  Upon  the 
latter  the  cars  go  almost  as  rapidly  as  on  an  ordinary 


RAILROADS.  O/ 

rapidly  as  on  an  ordinary  railway.  The  elevated  railroad 
tracks  are  supported  by  iron  columns  which  extend  to  the 
height  of  the  second-  or  third-story  windows. 

We  have  to  walk  upstairs  to  get  to  the  cars,  and  we  find 
ticket  offices  and  news  stands  on  the  elevated  platforms. 
Our  tickets  cost  us  five  cents  apiece.  We  drop  them  in 


Elevated  Railroad  on  the  Bowery,  New  York. 

the  box  at  the  door  of  the  station,  and  rush  for  the  cars. 
As  we  step  aboard,  the  guard  closes  the  iron  gates  at  the 
side  of  the  car  platform,  and  the  train  begins  to  move. 

The  cars  have  windows  like  those  of  a  street  car,  and  we 
can  see  into  the  upper  stories  of  the  houses  as  we  fly 
along  the  street.  Here  women  are  washing  clothes, 
there  they  are  cooking ;  here  we  go  by  a  shop  where  tail- 


68 


NEW    YORK. 


ors  are  working,  and  there  we  pass  buildings  given  up  to 
manufacturing. 

New  York  has  more  factories  than  any  other  city  in  the 
country.  It  has  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  who  do 
nothing  but  make  things  to  sell ;  and  if  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  in  the  United  States  would  throw  six  dollars  into 
a  pile  they  would  not,  all  together,  give  enough  to  buy  the 
goods  which  New  York  makes  in  one  year. 


Wharves,  East  Shore  of  Manhattan. 

But  here  we  are  at  the  wharves.  What  a  crush  and  jam 
there  is  all  about  us!  We  ask  policemen  to  help  us  across 
the  streets  through  the  crowds  of  wagons,  carts,  and 
trucks  loaded  with  goods  on  their  way  to  the  boats.  We 
walk  for  miles  past  great  docks,  upon  each  of  which 


DOCKS    AND    WHARVES.  69 

there  are  enormous  long  sheds  filled  with  bales,  boxes, 
and  barrels,  and  in  which  scores  of  men  are  at  work  load 
ing  and  unloading  vessels. 

New  York  has  more  than  twenty- five  miles  of  water 
front  on  Manhattan  Island  alone,  and  there  are  also  long 
lines  of  wharves  and  landing  places  on  the  Long  Island 
shores.  More  than  half  of  all  that  is  bought  of  foreign 
nations  by  the  United  States  comes  here. 

Our  imports  consist,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  things 
that  cannot  well  be  raised  in  America,  almost  altogether  of 
manufactured  articles.  We  are  the  greatest  manufactur 
ing  nation  of  the  world,  but  our  factories  are  not  yet  nu 
merous  enough  to  supply  all  our  needs,  and  so  we  import 
much  from  other  countries.  The  amount  of  money  we 
spend  for  goods  bought  in  this  way  is  so  great  that  if  it 
were  divided  among  all  of  our  people,  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  of  us  would  get  ten  dollars'  worth  every  year, 
and  there  would  be  many  many  millions  to  spare. 

Nearly  half  of  all  that  we  sell  to  other  countries  is  car 
ried  out  on  ships  which  sail  from  New  York,  and  we  here 
get  some  idea  of  our  foreign  commerce. 

More  than  three  thousand  steamships  come  from  foreign 
countries  to  these  wharves  every  year.  There  are  thou 
sands  of  sailing  vessels,  and  a  procession  of  steamers  is  al 
ways  moving  back  and  forth  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
carrying  our  goods  to  the  people  of  Europe  and  bringing 
their  goods  to  us. 

The  most  that  we  sell  comes  from  our  farms.  We 
raise  more  farm  products  than  we  can  use,  and  the 
United  States  is  to  a  large  extent  a  big  country  store  for 
th6  European  nations.  Every  year  two  thousand  ships 
laden  with  grain  sail  out  of  New  York.  The  steamers  have 
their  holds  filled  with  grain  in  bulk,  and  between  the  decks 


7O  NEW   YORK. 

the  wheat  is  piled  up  in  bags.  Such  vessels  are  loaded 
very  quickly,  and  almost  half  a  million  bushels  of  grain  can 
be  packed  away  in  a  ship  in  an  hour.  Vast  amounts  of 
meat  and  other  provisions  are  sent  across  the  Atlantic  every 
week,  and  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  cattle  are  carried 
away  to  be  killed  in  Europe  for  the  people  there. 

The  people  of  both  Europe  and  Asia  send  to  this  big 
country  store  for  a  large  part  of  the  oil  which  they  use 
in  their  lamps.  Our  petroleum  is  carried  over  all  the 
oceans.  It  is  shipped  from  New  York,  Baltimore,  Phila 
delphia,  and  other  places,  in  what  are  known  as  tank 
steamers,  a  single  one  of  which  will  hold  as  much  as  thirty 
thousand  barrels  of  coal  oil.  These  steamers  are  divided 
into  a  half-dozen  or  more  huge  tanks.  The  oil  is  pumped 
into  the  tanks,  and  it  remains  there  in  bulk  until  it  is  again 
pumped  out  upon  the  wharves  of  the  great  ports  of  Europe, 
Asia,  and  Africa. 

It  is  in  vessels  of  the  same  kind  that  molasses  is  brought  to 
the  United  States  from  Cuba.  Think  of  the  biggest  house 
you  have  ever  seen  as  one  solid  box,  and  let  it  be  filled 
with  molasses,  and  you  may  get  some  idea  of  the  sweet 
ness  which,  protected  only  by  a  thin  sheet  of  steel,  is  thus 
carried  through  the  salt  waters  of  the  ocean. 

We  visit  ships  at  the  wharves  which  are  loaded  with 
cotton.  This  comes  from  the  cotton  fields  of  our  southern 
states,  and  is  carried  in  bundles  or  bales  to  Europe  and 
Asia  to  be  made  into  cloth.  We  sell  more  than  twice  as 
much  raw  cotton  every  year  to  other  countries  as  we  do 
wheat  and  flour.  Cotton  is,  in  fact,  the  most  valuable  of 
all  the  articles  which  the  rest  of  the  world  buys  in  our  store. 
We  sell  more  than  half  of  all  the  cotton  we  raise,  and  we 
sometimes  get  as  much  as  four  hundred  million  dollars 
for  it  from  Europe  in  a  year.  We  learn  that  we  sell  more 


OCEAN   GREYHOUNDS.  /I 

goods  abroad  than  we  buy,  and  that  in  some  years  the 
other  nations  of  the  world  pay  us  several  hundred  million 
dollars  more  than  we  pay  them. 

Our  chief  trade  is  with  Europe.  The  English  are  our 
best  customers.  We  sell  them  large  quantities  of  raw  cot 
ton,  breadstuff's,  and  meats,  for  which  we  get  several  times 
as  much  as  we  pay  for  the  manufactured  articles  which 
they  sell  to  us. 

The  fastest  steamers  in  the  world  are  those  which  go 
between  Europe  and  America.  Some  steamships  cross  the 


An  Ocean  Greyhound — Kaiser  Wilhelm  der  Grosse. 

Atlantic  in  less  than  six  days,  and  they  go  so  swiftly  that 
they  have  been  called  the  ocean  greyhounds.  We  visit 
one  of  these  steamers,  which  has  just  arrived  at  the  wharf, 
and  find  parts  of  it  fitted  up  like  a  parlor.  It  has  large 

CARP.   N.  AM, —  5 


72  NEW   YORK. 

dining  rooms,  sitting  rooms,  bedrooms,  and  bathrooms, 
and  we  see  that  people  can  live  quite  as  well  now  upon  the 
water  as  upon  the  land.  We  look  at  the  enormous  en 
gines,  as  strong  as  twenty  thousand  horses,  which  drive 
the  huge  ship  through  the  water,  and  we  are  surprised 
when  told  that  its  furnaces  use  up  every  day  as  much  coal 
as  would  heat  thirty  large  dwelling  houses  for  a  whole  year. 

Away  down  in  the  lower  part  of  the  ship  we  find  what  is 
known  as  the  steerage.  This  part  is  not  so  well  furnished. 
It  is  full  of  poor  people  who  have  come  from  Europe  across 
the  Atlantic  to  our  country.  Such  people  do  not  land  at 
this  wharf.  They  are  carried  to  the  landing  place  of  the 
Department  of  Immigration  near  the  lower  end  of  Man 
hattan  Island,  where  officers  of  the  government  examine 
them  to  see  if  they  are  likely  to  become  good  citizens  of  the 
United  States.  We  are  glad  to  have  persons  from  all  parts 
of  the  world  come  here  to  live  and  help  develop  our  lands, 
but  we  do  not  wish  to  bring  in  among  us  those  who  are 
unable  or  too  lazy  to  work,  and  who  are  likely  to  go  into 
our  poorhouses  to  live.  So  the  government  has  provided 
that  all  poor  people  coming  into  New  York  must  be 
examined  before  they  can  land.  If  they  have  no  money 
whatever,  and  seem  to  be  worthless,  they  are  sent  back  to 
Europe  ;  but  otherwise  they  are  permitted  to  stay. 

For  years  the  poor  people  from  all  parts  of  Europe 
have  been  coming  to  America,  because  they  can  make 
more  money  and  live  better  here  than  at  home.  Since 
1820  it  is  estimated  that  more  than  twenty  millions  of  such 
people  have  arrived  on  our  shores,  and  in  1890  almost  one 
half  of  our  inhabitants  were  either  born  in  other  countries 
or  were  the  children  of  people  born  there. 

We  visit  the  place  where  these  immigrants  land.  Here 
we  find  ourselves  surrounded  by  hundreds  of  odd-looking 


STATUE  OF    LIBERTY. 


73 


men,  women,  and  children.  Very  few  of  the  women  wear 
bonnets,  and  many  of  the  men  have  caps  or  queerly  shaped 
hats.  There  are  many  English  and  Irish,  and  a  large  num 
ber  of  Germans.  There  are  dark-faced  Italians,  and  long- 
bearded  Jews  from  Russia  and  Poland.  There  are  people 
from  Norway  and  Sweden,  and  we  see  boys  from  Holland, 
who  wear  wooden  shoes.  Every  person  has  his  baggage 
with  him,  and  some  sit  on  piles 
of  bedding  which  they  have 
brought  from  their  homes.  They 
seem  strangely  out  of  place  ;  but 
as  we  look  at  them  we  realize 
that  they  are  strong  and  able  to 
work,  and  that  the  most  of  them 
in  a  short  time  will  be  good 
American  citizens. 

We  take  a  boat  and  sail  over 
to  Bedloes  Island,  in  the  harbor, 
to  see  the  magnificent  statue  of 
Liberty  Enlightening  the  World. 
This  statue  is  intended  to  show 


Liberty  Enlightening  the  World. 


every  one  who  comes  into  New  York  that  this  is  a  free 
country  where  the  people  rule  themselves  and  where  all 
the  world  can  learn  to  be  free.  The  statue  is  as  high  as  a 
very  tall  church  steeple.  We  get  some  idea  of  its  size 
when  we  learn  that  forty  men  have  stood  inside  its  head 
at  one  time,  and  that  its  forefinger  is  so  long  that  it  would 
reach  from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling  of  an  average  room, 
and  so  big  around  that  the  hoop  of  a  flour  barrel  would 
just  about  fit  it  if  used  as  a  ring. 

As  we  leave  the  statue  and  go  back  to  New  York  we 
have  a  fine  view  of  the  Brooklyn  Bridge,  which  unites  that 
part  of  New  York  known  as  Brooklyn  with  Manhattan 


74 


NEW   YORK. 


Island.  This  is  one  of  the  most  wonderful  bridges  ever 
made.  It  is  an  immense  structure  of  stone  and  steel, 
more  than  a  mile  in  length,  crossing  the  water  way  called 
East  River.  The  bridge  cost  more  than  the  Capitol  at 
Washington,  and  one  of  the  most  interesting  things'  about 
it  is  the  story  of  how  it  was  built.  It  was  designed  by 


The  Brooklyn  Bridge. 

John  A.  Roebling,  who  died  before  it  was  begun.  His 
son  took  up  the  work,  and  after  thirteen  years  it  was 
completed.  The  young  man  worked  so  hard  in  superin 
tending  the  building  of  the  bridge  that  he  broke  down  in 
health,  and  the  doctors  refused  to  permit  him  to  go  out  of 
the  house.  This  was  after  he  had  worked  only  three 
years.  Still  he  superintended  the  work  to  the  end. 


CENTRAL  PARK.  75 

He  took  a  house  on  Columbia  Heights,  not  far  from  the 
bridge,  and  with  windows  looking  out  upon  it.  Here  from 
his  sick  room  with  a  telescope  he  watched  the  builders  day 
by  day  and  hour  by  hour  for  ten  years  as  they  built  the 
bridge,  sending  his  orders  as  to  just  how  everything  should 
be  done,  and  superintending  the  work  almost  as  well  as 
though  he  had  been  on  the  spot. 


A  View  in  Central  Park. 

We  close  our  day  by  a  visit  to  Central  Park,  the  great 
playground  for  the  boys  and  girls  of  Manhattan  Island.  It 
is  full  of  interesting  and  beautiful  things,  and  is  one  of  the 
finest  and  most  famous  parks  in  the  world.  Prospect  Park, 
on  the  Brooklyn  side  of  East  River,  is  another  delightful 
pleasure  ground,  but  we  cannot  visit  it  now.  After  an 
other  restful  night  at  our  hotel,  we  take  the  elevated  road 
for  the  Grand  Central  Railroad  Station,  where  we  board  a 
train  for  New  England. 


76  NEW  ENGLAND. 


IX.  NEW  ENGLAND  — COMMERCE  AND 
MANUFACTURES. 

NEW  ENGLAND  is  made  up  of  six  of  the  smallest 
states  of  the  Union.  The  New  England  states, 
Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Rhode 
Island,  and  Connecticut,  taken  together,  are  smaller  than 
either  Kansas,  Minnesota,  or  Nebraska.  They  are  not  half 
as  big  as  California,  and  but  little  more  than  one  quarter  the 
size  of  Texas.  It  would  take  nearly  thirty  Connecticuts  to 
cover  Montana,  and  two  hundred  Rhode  Islands  to  be  as 
big  as  Texas. 

The  soil  of  New  England  is  such  that  its  people  can 
make  more  money  in  other  ways  than  by  farming.  A 
large  part  of  the  land  is  mountainous.  The  Appalachian 
mountain  chain  runs  through  it,  and  the  only  very  fertile 
spots  are  to  be  found  in  the  valleys  of  the  rivers  and  in 
the  narrow  strip  of  Atlantic  plain  which  runs  around 
the  coast.  A  large  part  of  Maine  is  covered  with  forests 
and  lakes,  and  much  of  the  land  in  other  New  England 
states  is  so  stony  that  it  can  be  used  only  for  the  raising 
of  cattle  and  sheep.  More  than  half  the  food  consumed 
in  this  part  of  our  country  comes  from  the  Mississippi 
Valley.  The  New  England  winters  are  long  and  cold, 
and  the  ground  is  often  covered  with  snow  for  months  at 
a  time. 

You  would  think  that  this  would  be  one  of  the  poorest 
parts  of  the  United  States,  that  few  people  could  live  there, 
and  that  those  who  manage  to  exist  would  have  very  little 
money  indeed. 

Now  the  truth  is,  New  England  has  vast  wealth  and  a 
great  population.  The  southern  portion  of  it  is  the  most 


MANUFACTURES.  77 

thickly  settled  part  of  our  country.  There  is  no  other 
state  which  has  so  many  people  in  proportion  to  its  size 
as  Rhode  Island.  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  have 
hundreds  of  cities  and  villages.  There  are  few  places  in 
the  world  where  the  people  live  so  well.  The  people  of 
New  England  have,  in  fact,  more  money  than  those  of  any 
other  section  of  the  same  size  in  the  United  States ;  and 
Massachusetts  has  enough  wealth  to  buy  some  of  the 
Western  states  that  are  ten  times  larger. 

How  does  this  come  to  pass?  New  England  has  no 
great  gold,  silver,  or  iron  mines,  and  it  has  no  large  coal 
fields  like  those  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  secret  of  it  is  in  manufactures  and  commerce.  The 
steep  mountains  which  seem  so  poor  to  us  are  one  of  the 
great  sources  of  the  riches  of  New  England.  The  moun 
tains  lie  near  the  sea.  They  have  many  small  rivers  and 
streams  flowing  rapidly  down  them,  which  give  great 
water  power  just  at  the  places  where  ships  can  most 
cheaply  bring  the  materials  for  manufacturing,  and  from 
where  the  goods  made  can  be  easily  sent  to  all  parts  of  the 
world.  This  has  led  men  to  build  factories  along  all  these 
streams.  Water  power  is  the  cheapest  of  all  kinds  of 
power.  A  little  stream  will  often  do  the  work  of  a  hun 
dred  horses.  A  great  part  of  our  manufacturing  is  done 
by  water  power.  Indeed,  it  is  estimated  that  we  have  so 
much  power  of  this  kind  in  our  country  that  if  we  used 
the  whole  of  it,  it  would  be  stronger  than  two  hundred 
million  horses  all  pulling  at  once. 

The  people  of  New  England  learned  very  early  that  it 
was  hard  to  get  a  living  from  the  soil.  They  began  to 
manufacture  for  others,  and  soon  found  they  could  earn 
more  money  in  that  way  than  by  farming.  They  became 
very  skillful,  so  that  they  could  make  goods  cheaply  and 


78  NEW    ENGLAND. 

well.  As  our  country  grew  they  built  more  and  more 
factories.  They  found  that  they  could  bring  in  coal  at 
slight  cost  from  Pennsylvania,  and  there  are  now  factories 
in  most  parts  of  New  England  which  are  run  by  steam,  in 
addition  to  those  run  by  water. 

It  is  wonderful  how  many  things  are  made  in  New  Eng 
land.  Nearly  every  one  of  us  has  something  upon  us 
which  came  from  there.  A  great  part  of  all  the  cotton 


Interior  of  a  Cotton  Factory. 

goods  in  the  United  States  is  woven  in  New  England  fac 
tories.  There  are  vast  mills  which  make  ginghams,  mus 
lins,  and  calicoes  out  of  the  woolly  fiber  of  the  cotton  plant 
from  our  southern  states. 

The  enormous  water  power  of  the  Merrimac  and  other 
rivers  has  built  up  great  cities,  such  as  Nashua  and  Man 
chester  in  New  Hampshire ;  Lowell,  Lawrence,  and  Fall 
River  in  Massachusetts ;  and  Pawtucket  and  Providence  in 


COTTON    AND    WOOLEN    MILLS.  79 

Rhode  Island.  These  cities  are  largely  devoted  to  mak 
ing  cottons.  Lowell  makes  more  cotton  cloth  than  any 
other  place  in  the  United  States.  It  makes,  indeed,  so 
much  every  year  that  if  it  could  be  woven  in  one  strip 
a  yard  wide,  the  strip  would  reach  from  Boston  to  San 
Francisco.  There  are  also  many  cotton  factories  in  the 
South,  and  we  are  told  that  factories  are  now  being  built 
close  to  the  plantations  upon  which  the  cotton  is  grown. 

A  large  part  of  the  woolen  goods  of  the  United  States 
is  made  in  New  England.  The  first  woolen  mill  in  Amer 
ica  was  started  in  Hartford,  Connecticut,  in  1 788 ;  and 
when  President  George  Washington  was  inaugurated,  in 
1789,  he  wore  a  suit  of  clothes  made  of  cloth  woven  in 
this  mill. 

So  many  of  our  boots  and  shoes  are  made  in  Massachu 
setts  that  fully  one  half  of  the  people  of  the  United  States 
may  be  said  to  have  a  part  of  Massachusetts  under  their 
feet.  Connecticut  not  only  tells  us  when  to  get  up  in  the 
morning,  for  it  makes  the  most  of  our  clocks,  but  it  also 
helps  us  to  dress,  for  its  factories  produce  tons  of  buttons, 
millions  upon  millions  of  hooks  and  eyes,  and  the  most  of 
the  pins  which  fasten  our  clothes. 

In  Massachusetts  are  some  of  the  biggest  paper  mills  in 
this  country.  There  are  large  factories  in  Rhode  Island 
which  make  beautiful  jewelry,  and  in  Connecticut  there  are 
many  places  where  knives,  nails,  and  all  kinds  of  hardware 
are  manufactured. 

It  is  in  this  region  that  we  can  learn  all  about  watches. 
In  southern  New  England  we  find  hundreds  of  men  and 
women  working  on  timepieces.  The  simplest  of  watches 
have  only  fifty-four  parts ;  the  more  expensive  ones  have 
several  times  this  number;  and  we  can  learn  a  lesson  in 
being  exact  by  noticing  the  care  with  which  every  part  has 


80  NEW    ENGLAND. 

to  be  made.  In  the  finer  watches  there  are  steel  screws  so 
small  that  they  look  like  grains  of  sand.  It  would  take 
three  hundred  thousand  of  them  to  weigh  a  pound. 

As  we  go  through  the  factories  we  see  that,  after  all, 
steam  and  water  do  only  a  small  part  of  the  work  of  manu 
facturing.  It  takes  a  great  many  men  and  women  to  run 
the  machines  and  to  do  certain  kinds  of  work.  Some  parts 
of  a  watch  are  so  small  that  it  costs  more  than  ten  thou 
sand  dollars  in  wages  to  turn  a  pound  of  steel  into  them. 
We  are  shown  hair  springs  which  cost  so  much  to  make 
that  it  is  said  that  seventy- five  cents'  worth  of  iron  ore, 
after  being  turned  into  such  springs,  is  worth  four  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  Of  this  less  than  one  dollar  would  be 
for  the  ore,  and  the  most  of  the  remainder  would  be  paid 
to  the  men  who  do  the  work.  By  this  you  can  see  how 
manufacturing  supports  a  vast  population. 

Another  great  source  of  New  England's  wealth  is  its 
commerce.  If  you  will  look  at  the  coast  of  Maine  you 
will  see  that  its  shores  run  in  and  out  almost  like  the  teeth 
of  a  saw.  It  is  called  the  "  State  of  One  Hundred  Har 
bors."  There  are  many  fine  harbors  in  Massachusetts,  and 
there  are  good  landing  places  for  ships  all  along  the  south 
coast  of  New  England  almost  to  New  York. 

What  do  you  think  would  be  the  business  of  a  people 
with  such  a  coast? 

There  would  be  much  shipping  and  many  sailors.  The 
boys,  hearing  the  sea  captains  tell  their  adventures,  would 
want  to  go  to  sea  and  become  captains  too.  Well,  this  is 
just  what  has  happened.  There  are  more  than  twelve 
thousand  men  from  Maine  who  are  sailors.  During  my 
travels  in  Asia  I  found  a  Massachusetts  sea  captain  com 
manding  a  steamer  on  a  Chinese  river,  and  there  are  New 
England  sailing  vessels  everywhere.  This  part  of  our 


COMMERCE. 


81 


country  has  now  a  large  foreign  commerce.  Boston  has 
ships  from  all  parts  of  the  world  in  its  harbors,  and  a  great 
quantity  of  the  American  goods  which  are  shipped  to  Eu 
rope  and  other  countries  is  first  sent  to  Boston. 


View  of  Boston  Harbor. 

New  England  is  now  covered  with  railroads.  On  the 
Fitchburg  road,  which  crosses  the  Hoosac  Mountains, 
there  is  a  tunnel  more  than  four  miles  long.  This  is  one 
of  the  longest  tunnels  in  the  world.  It  aids  in  bringing 
Boston  into  direct  communication  with  Chicago  and  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  and  causes  much  of  our  wheat  and  other 
products  to  be  brought  to  Boston  to  be  sent  across  the 
Atlantic.  There  are  parts  of  New  England  where  the 
railroads  are  more  numerous  than  in  any  other  portion  of  our 
country.  They  cover  its  lower  states  like  a  net,  and  in 
traveling  over  them  we  pass  an  almost  endless  procession. 


82  NEW    ENGLAND. 

of  freight  trains  carrying  their  loads  to  or  from  the  many 
harbors  along  the  coast. 

Have  you  ever  thought  what  a  large  part  commerce  has 
in  our  daily  life?  It  has  to  do  with  every  meal  that  we 
eat.  At  our  hotel  in  New  York  we  sat  down  to  dinner 
before  a  mahogany  table  made  from  trees  grown  in  the 
West  Indies.  Our  tablecloth  was  woven  from  Irish  flax, 
and  our  knives  and  forks  were  of  steel  made  of  iron  which 
was  dragged  from  the  mines  of  Lake  Superior,  hundreds 
of  miles  to  the  westward.  We  drank  coffee  which  had 
been  imported  from  the  East  Indies  or  Arabia.  The 
sugar  we  put  into  it  came  from  the  cane  fields  of  Cuba  or 
Louisiana.  We  had  a  splendid  cut  of  roast  beef  which  six 
months  ago  was  part  of  an  animal  galloping  madly  over 
some  western  prairie  with  a  cowboy  behind  him.  We 
sprinkled  it  with  salt  from  the  salt  wells  of  Michigan,  and 
seasoned  it  with  pepper  which  grew  on  the  island  of  Singa 
pore,  on  the  other  side  of  the  world.  Our  bread  was  made 
of  wheat  which  was  ground  into  flour  at  Minneapolis  and 
came  down  the  Great  Lakes  to  be  used  in  New  York. 
The  mince  pie  which  was  brought  in  for  dessert  was  filled 
with  currants  from  Greece,  while  the  three-cornered  cream 
nuts  with  which  we  finished  our  meal  were  shaken  from' 
trees  in  the  forests  of  Brazil. 

We  thus  see  how  commerce  and  manufactures  every 
where  go  hand  in  hand.  The  factories  of  New  England 
use  a  vast  deal  of  stuff  which  is  brought  here  by  ships 
from  Asia,  Europe,  and  South  America,  and  we  can  find 
things  from  other  parts  of  the  world  in  almost  every  fac 
tory. 

Let  us  visit  one  of  the  shoemaking  establishments  of 
Lynn,  Massachusetts.  Some  of  the  leather  was  imported 
from  Russia;  some  of  it  came  in  the  shape  of  hides  from 


SHOE    SHOPS    AT    LYNN.  83 

the  cattle  of  the  South  American  pampas,  and  some  from 
those  on  the  plains  of -Texas.  We  see  skins  here  which 
have  just  arrived  from  France,  Germany,  or  England,  and 
some  which  were  shipped  from  India,  China,  or  the  penin 
sula  of  Korea. 

It  is  in  turning  the  skins  into  leather  that  manufacture 
first  joins  hands  with  commerce.     The  skins,  when  they 


Interior  of  a  Shoe  Shop,  Lynn. 

land  in  New  England,  are  much  as  tlrey  were  when  they 
came  from  the  backs  of  the  animals.  They  have  to  be 
tanned  before  they  can  be  used.  They  are  soaked  for  a 
long  time  in  vats  of  water  filled  with  tan  bark  brought 
from  one  of  the  forest  regions  of  our  country ;  next  they 


84  NEW    ENGLAND. 

are  scoured  and  dried,  then  greased  in  order  to  make  them 
soft,  and  then  covered  with  blacking, — so  that  a  single 
skin  has  to  be  handled  hundreds  of  times  before  it  is  ready 
to  be  made  into  shoes.  The  nails,  buttons,  and  strings 
used  in  shoemaking  are  made  in  different  factories  and 
from  materials  which  come  from  different  localities. 

By  machinery  and'  by  working  together  men  can  make 
things  more  quickly  and  at  a  much  less  cost  than  when 
one  man  did  all  the  work  with  his  hands.  In  the  shoe 
shops  of  our  forefathers  one  man  made  the  whole  shoe, 
and  he  probably  thought  he  was  doing  well  if  he  could 
make  a  shoe  in  a  day.  There  are  machines  in  the  shops 
of  Lynn  that  will  sew  six  hundred  pairs  of  shoes  in  a 
day,  and  some  that  will  put  pegs  into  the  soles  at  the 
rate  of  nine  hundred  pegs  a  minute.  We  find  that  each 
part  of  the  shoe  is  made  by  a  different  machine,  and  that 
one  man  works  day  after  day  making  certain  parts  only. 
All  kinds  of  manufacturing  are  done  in  this  way.  It 
takes  many,  many  men  to  make  a  piece  of  cloth ;  and 
if  we  should  go  to  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  where  there 
is  a  large  rifle  factory,  we  might  see  guns  being  made 
which  have  hundreds  of  different  parts,  each  of  which  is 
made  by  a  different  man. 


X.     AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS     AND     LAKES 
OF    NEW    ENGLAND. 

WE  shall  spend  a  part  of  to-day  among  the  mountains 
of    New   England.      The    Appalachian    mountain 
range,  which  begins  in  the  northern  part  of  Alabama  and 
forms   the   eastern   rim   of  the  great   Mississippi   and   St. 


THE    WHITE    MOUNTAINS.  85 

Lawrence  basins,  runs  northward  through  New  England 
and  on  into  Canada.  This  mountain  chain  is  made  up  of 
many  ranges,  some  of  which  are  parallel  with  one  another. 
With  its  valleys,  it  occupies  a  space  almost  one  hundred 
miles  wide.  The  highest  portions  of  it  are  found  in  North 
Carolina,  but  its  most  picturesque  regions  are  in  New 


The  White  Mountains. 

England.  The  White  Mountains  of  New  Hampshire  are 
so  beautiful  that  that  state  has  been  called  the  Switzerland 
of  America  by  travelers  who  have  seen  the  Alps. 

The  highest  of  the  White  Mountains  is  Mount  Washing 
ton.  We  can  go  in  an  ordinary  train  to  the  foot  of  this 
mountain,  and  from  there  can  ride  to  its  summit  over  one 
of  the  oddest  little  railroads  in  the  world.  The  mountain 


86  NEW    ENGLAND. 

is  more  than  a  mile  high,  and  this  little  railroad  goes  right 
up  to  its  top.  In  some  places  the  track  is  so  steep  that  it 
looks  more  like  a  ladder  than  a  railroad,  and  the  cars  which 
go  up  it  are  at  times  at  such  an  angle  that  you  would  think 
they  would  slide  to  the  bottom. 

This  is  prevented  by  the  way  the  railroad  is  built.  It 
has  three  rails  instead  of  two,  and  the  rail  in  the  center 
consists  of  two  bars  of  iron,  with  connecting  crosspieces 

placed  four  inches 
apart  throughout  its 
whole  length.  The 
little  locomotive  has 
wheels  which  rest  on 
the  outer  rails,  and 
also  a  wheel  with  cogs 

Railroad  up  Mount  Washington.  which       fit       into       this 

central  rail,  the  cogs 

moving  upon  the  crosspieces.  The  wheel  is  kept  from 
running  backward  by  a  wrought-iron  catch,  so  that  if  any 
part  of  the  machinery  gives  way  the  steam  engine  can 
be  immediately  stopped.  The  little  car  in  which  we  ride 
is  in  front  of  the  engine,  and  the  engine  pushes  rather  than 
pulls  us  upward  into  the  clouds. 

Upon  fine  days,  such  as  the  one  we  have  for  our  jour 
ney,  the  car  windows  are  open,  so  that  we  can  see  almost 
as  well  as  though  we  sat  in  a  carriage.  We  sit  with  our 
backs  to  the  summit,  looking  down  the  mountain  ;  and  as 
we  rise  we  can  see  masses  of  vapor  nestling  in  the  sides  of 
the  hills  below  us.  Nearer  the  top  we  pass  through  clouds 
of  mist,  and  are  told  that  there  are  many  times  when  the 
summit  of  Mount  Washington  is  hidden  in  clouds. 

At  last  the  sun  clears  the  sky,  and  we  enjoy  the  mag 
nificent  views  to  be  had  all  about  us.  We  can  see  the 


THE    WHITE    MOUNTAINS. 


\ 


other  mountains  of  the  Presidential  Range.  There  are 
Mount  Adams,  Mount  Jefferson,  and  Mount  Madison,  all 
of  which  are  more  than  a  mile  high ;  and  near  them  are 
lesser  mountains,  named  after  Presidents  Monroe  and 
Jackson.  From  the  summit  we  can  see  into  Canada,  and 
away  off  in  the  distance  lies  Mount  Katahdin  in  Maine. 

There  is  a  large  hotel  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Washing 
ton,  and  we  may  travel  through  the  Green  Mountains  in 
Vermont,  the  Catskills  and  the  Adi- 
rondacks  in  New  York,  and  about 
through  the  beautiful  hills  and  lakes 
of  Maine,  and  find  good  places  at 
which  to  stop  in  each  region.  These 
mountains  during  the  summer  are 
filled  with  people  from  the  lowlands, 
who  come  here  to  get  away  from  the 
heat  and  enjoy  the  pure  air  and  beau 
tiful  scenery.  Maine  has  vast  forests 
of  pine  and  other  trees,  in  which 
there  are  still  deer  and  bears,  and 
there  is  good  shooting  in  many  parts 
of  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont. 

We  can  have  good  fishing  almost 
anywhere  in  the  northern  parts  of 
New  England.  There  are  trout 
streams  in  the  mountains,  and  Maine 
has  hundreds  of  lakes  in  which  there 
are  salmon  and  other  fine  fish.  New 
England,  in  fact,  supplies  a  large 
amount  of  the  fish  of  the  United  States,  though  the  most 
of  the  fish  which  are  exported  are  caught  in  salt  water. 

All  along  the  coast  there  are  thousands  of  men  and  boys 
who  do  nothing  else  but  catch  fish  for  a  livelihood.      Some 

CARP.   >'.  A.M.— 6 


Trout  Fishing. 


88 


NEW    ENGLAND. 


have  fishing  vessels,  in  which  they  go  far  away  from  home 
to  what  are  known  as  the  banks  of  Newfoundland.  They 
catch  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  fish  every  year,  and 
bring  them  to  the  United  States  for  sale. 

In  our  travels  through  the  mountains  we  shall  see  what 
wealth  New  England  has  in  its  hills.  We  know  that  the 
streams  which  flow  rapidly  down  them  supply  the  water 

power  which  moves 
many  of  the  factories 
in  the  lowlands.  The 
mountains  also  furnish 
other  things  of  great 
value,  although  they 
have  no  great  beds  of 
coal  and  iron,  such  as 
are  found  in  the  Ap 
palachian  chain  farther 
south. 

The  stone  of  New 
England  is  worth  a  great 
deal  of  money.  We  find 
vast  quarries  in  which 
granite,  one  of  the  hard- 


A  Granite  Quarry. 


est  stones,  is  being  blast 
ed  out  with  dynamite 
and  cut  into  blocks,  to  be  shipped  to  all  parts  of  our  coun 
try.  Many  of  our  cities  are  paved  with  granite  blocks  which 
have  come  from  New  England,  and  some  of  our  build 
ings  are  made  of  granite.  Beautiful  marble  is  found  in 
some  parts  of  New  England,  and  in  fact  almost  half  of  the 
marble  used  in  our  country  comes  from  Vermont,  though 
much  fine  marble  is  now  being  quarried  in  Tennessee  and 
Georgia. 


THE    QUARRIES.  89 

In  our  visits  to  the  quarries  of  Vermont  we  see  that 
much  more  care  is  used  in  getting  out  marble  than  in 
quarrying  granite.  The  rough  blocks  of  marble  are  cut 
by  means  of  sand  and  what  might  be  called  a  sand  saw. 
The  saw  is  merely  a  long  strip  of  steel.  A  little  groove 
is  cut  in  the  stone,  and  this  is  filled  with  a  very  hard  sand. 
Then  the  strip  of  steel  is  moved  back  and  forth  on  the 
stone  by  machinery,  so  that  it  rubs  the  sand  in  the  crack 
against  the  marble,  and  the  sand  does  the  cutting.  After 
the  stones  have  been  sawed  into  the  proper  shapes  they 
are  carefully  smoothed  and  polished,  and  are  then  ready 
for  shipment. 

But  what  kind  of  stone  is  of  most  use  to  a  schoolboy  ? 

Marble  ?  No  ;  this  is  chiefly  for  mantels,  tables,  tomb 
stones,  ornamental  buildings,  and  other  such  things. 

Granite?  No;  granite  is  used  for  building  and  other 
purposes  where  a  strong  and  beautiful  stone  is  required. 

The  stone  which  is  used  every  day  in  many  schools  is 
slate.  A  large  part  of  the  slate  comes  from  New  England, 
although  a  great  deal  is  quarried  in  Pennsylvania  and  else 
where.  Slate  can  be  easily  split  into  the  thin  sheets  which 
are  used  for  making  slate  roofs,  and  these  sheets  need  very 
little  preparation  other  than  splitting  and  trimming.  In 
making  school  slates  the  sheets  have  to  be  smoothed  by  rub 
bing  them  with  sand  and  emery  powder.  A  great  many 
school  slates  are  manufactured  at  Bangor,  Maine,  and  we 
can  there  see  boys  and  girls  attending  to  machines  which 
may  have  made  the  very  slates  that  you  are  now  using. 

But  there  is  another  article  made  in  New  England  which 
every  boy  and  girl  is  glad  to  get.  This  is  the  maple  sugar 
of  Vermont.  Maple  sugar  comes  from  the  sap  of  the 
maple  tree.  The  sap  is  gathered  in  the  spring,  after  the 
first  thaw,  at  which  time  it  begins  to  move  in  the  trees. 


90  NEW   ENGLAND. 

Holes  are  then  bored  in  the  trees  not  far  above  the 
ground,  and  little  wooden  tubes  called  spiles  are  driven 
into  them.  Soon  the  sap  begins  to  flow.  It  oozes  from 
the  trees  into  the  spiles,  and  drop  by  drop  it  falls  into 
buckets  that  are  hung  beneath  them  or  placed  at  the  foot 
of  the  trees.  As  the  drops  hang  on  the  end  of  the  spile 


Collecting  Sugar  Water —  Vermont. 

they  look  just  like  water.  Catch  one  of  them  upon  your 
finger  and  taste  it.  It  is  sweet,  and  the  water  in  the 
bucket  is  called  sugar  water. 

After  the  buckets  are  filled,  which  occurs  perhaps  once  or 
twice  a  day,  the  sugar  water  is  carried  to  the  sugar  house, 
where  it  is  put  in  large  kettles  to  be  boiled.  The  sugar 
water  grows  thicker  and  thicker  as  the  boiling  goes  on,  until 
after  a  time  it  becomes  a  thin  molasses  and  then  a  thick- 
sirup.  It  is  then  poured  into  molds,  and  in  a  short  time 
turns  to  sugar. 


BOSTON.  91 


XI.     IN    BOSTON. 

WE  have  no  trouble  in  getting  to  Boston.  It  is  the 
largest  and  wealthiest  city  of  the  northeastern  sec 
tion  of  our  country.  There  are  railroads  to  it  from  all  parts 
of  New  England.  It  lies  on  one  of  the  finest  harbors  of 
the  Atlantic  coast.  It  is  so  situated  that  it  forms  the  best 
port  for  shipping  the  goods  made  in  New  England  to  other 
countries  by  sea,  and  one  of  the  best  points  for  shipping 
our  farming  products  and  other  things  to  Europe. 

Boston  stands  next  to  New  York  in  the  amount  of  its 
foreign  commerce.  Its  good  harbor  allows  the  materials 
for  manufacturing  to  be  brought  in  so  cheaply  that  it  has 
become  a  great  manufacturing  city.  There  are  almost  a 
hundred  thousand  persons  working  in  its  factories.  It  has 
about  three  quarters  of  a  million  inhabitants,  and  is  so 
surrounded  by  villages  whose  inhabitants  do  business  in 
Boston  that  within  fifteen  miles  of  its  center  there  are 
now  living  almost  a  million  and  a  half. 

As  we  walk  through  the  business  portions  of  Boston  the 
crowds  seem  even  greater  than  they  were  in  New  York. 
The  streets  here  are  narrow  and  crooked ;  the  buildings  are 
high ;  and  some  parts  of  the  business  section  between 
Washington  Street  and  Boston  Common  have  so  many 
people  that  the  buildings  make  us  think  of  enormous  boxes 
divided  into  compartments  packed  with  men  carrying  on 
different  kinds  of  work. 

We  spend  some  time  in  Boston  Common.  This  is  a 
beautiful  park  in  the  heart  of  the  city.  Until  about  fifty 
years  ago,  when  Central  Park  was  laid  out,  Boston  Com 
mon  was  the  finest  park  in  the  United  States.  It  is  shaded 
by  hundreds  of  old  elm  trees,  and  at  one  side  of  it  there  is 


02 


BOSTON. 


a  great  oblong  building  whose  golden  dome  may  be  seen 
from  almost  every  part  of  Boston.  This  is  the  statehouse, 
where  the  governor  of  Massachusetts  has  his  offices  and 
the  legislature  meets  every  year  to  make  laws  for  the  state. 
In  the  center  of  Boston  Common  is  the  Frog  Pond,  about 
which  the  Boston  boys  play  in  the  summer. 


Boston  Common. 

In  our  tour  through  the  city  we  pass  other  fine  parks, 
and  learn  that  outside  of  the  business  portion  there  are 
many  wide  and  beautiful  streets.  Commonwealth  Avenue, 
for  instance,  is  about  one  hundred  feet  wider  than  Penn 
sylvania  Avenue  in  Washington,  and  through  its  center 
runs  a  park  of  trees,  among  which  are  footpaths.  There 
are  fine  residences  on  both  sides  of  the  avenue,  and  at 


CAMBRIDGE. 


93 


night,  when  the  street  is  lighted  with  four  rows  of  lamps 
and  the  carriages  of  rich  Bostonians  are  flying  to  and  fro 
upon  it,  it  presents  one  of  the  finest  sights  of  the  world. 

Boston  people  are  noted  for  their  learning  and  culture. 
There  are  many  large  book  stores  and  publishing  houses 
here,  and  the  city  has  many  libraries  and  museums.  It 


Scollay  Square,  Boston. 


has  musical,  scientific,  and  other  kinds  of  schools ;  and  in 
Cambridge,  one  of  its  suburbs,  we  visit  Harvard  Univer 
sity,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  colleges  in  the  United 
States.  It  has  more  than  three  hundred  teachers,  and  in 
its  different  departments  there  are  more  than  five  thou 
sand  students.  Harvard  is  our  oldest  college.  It  was 
founded  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago,  and  more  than 


94 


BOSTON. 


Harvard  Gateway. 


sixty   years   before   Yale   College   was   founded   at   New 
Haven,  Connecticut.     Yale  and  Harvard  were  for  a  long 

time  the  most  fa 
mous  colleges  of  our 
country ;  but  to 
day  there  are  good 
schools  and  colleges 
in  almost  every  part 
of  the  United  States. 
It  was  in  Cam 
bridge  that  General 
Washington  first 
took  command  of 
the  army  of  the  Rev 
olution.  This  was  on  the  3d  of  July,  1775.  Boston  was 
then  in  the  hands  of  the  British,  and  General  Washington 
besieged  it.  We  can  visit  Dor 
chester  Heights,  where  Wash 
ington  put  his  cannon  during 
the  last  of  the  siege.  From 
these  heights  he  could  fire 
upon  the  city  and  at  the  ships 
in  the  harbor,  and  he  thus 
forced  the  British  to  leave. 

New  England  people  have 
always  been  noted  for  their 
bravery.  Everywhere  in  Bos 
ton  we  see  things  which  re 
mind  us  of  the  stirring  times 
of  the  past,  when  it  took  some 
courage  to  be  a  true  Ameri 
can  citizen.  Let  us  take  a  street  car  and  ride  out  to  the 
Bunker  Hill  Monument.  It  stands  on  the  site  where  the 


Bunker  Hill  Monument. 


THE    BOSTON   TEA    PARTY.  95 

Americans  fought  the  British  so  bravely  before  Washing 
ton  came.  This  section  of  Boston  is  now  thickly  settled, 
but  the  monument  marks  the  place  of  the  battle.  It  is  a 
shaft  of  granite,  the  corner  stone  of  which  was  laid  by 
General  Lafayette  in  1825.  There  are  steps  inside  of  it 
by  which  we  can  walk  to  the  top  and  look  over  the  city. 
On  the  ground  below  us  we  see  the  statue  of  Colonel  Wil 
liam  Prescott,  who  commanded  the  Americans  that  day.  It 
represents  him  as  he  looked  when  the  English  were  com 
ing,  and  when  he  held  back  his  men  until  they  could  do 
the  most  damage,  saying:  "Don't  fire  till  I  tell  you! 
Don't  fire  till  you  see  the  whites  of  their  eyes!" 

Later  on,  as  we  walk  along  the  wharves  of  the  harbor, 
we  think  of  the  famous  Boston  tea  party.  We  remember 
how  fifty  Boston  men  and  boys,  disguised  as  Indians,  ran 
yelling  down  to  these  wharves,  and  boarding  the  English 
ships  which  were  loaded  with  tea  for  America,  emptied  the 
chests  of  tea  into  the  water. 

The  English  government  had  said  that  Americans  must 
pay  taxes  upon  their  tea,  but  the  Americans  claimed  that 
the  English  had  no  right  to  tax  them  without  their  consent. 
Hence  they  refused  to  drink  tea,  or  to  wear  any  kind  of 
goods  from  England  upon  which  they  had  to  pay  taxes. 
They  decided  to  dress  in  clothes  made  in  America,  and 
began  to  drink  tea  of  sage,  sassafras  roots,  and  other 
American  plants. 

When  the  English  people  heard  how  their  tea  had  been 
destroyed  in  Boston,  they  became  very  angry,  and  the 
English  Parliament  said  that  no. more  ships  should  come 
into  the  Boston  harbor  until  the  city  paid  for  the  tea.  This 
caused  great  trouble  in  Boston,  and  it  aided  in  bringing  on 
the  Revolutionary  War.  To-day  England  is  very  glad  to 
send  goods  to  Boston  without  any  tax.  Into  this  same 


96 


BOSTON. 


harbor,  which  was  then  closed,  now  come  much  of  the 
goods  which   our  people   buy  of  England,  and  out  of  .it 
go  vast  quantities  of  products  which  they 
sell  to  her. 

We  next  visit  the  old  North  Church,  in 
the  steeple  of  which  the  lanterns  were 
hung  that  night  when  the  British  soldiers 
started  out  to  march  against  the  Ameri 
cans  at  Lexington  and  Concord.  The 
lanterns  were  to  tell  the  patriots  across 
the  river  that  the  British  were  coming. 
This  signal  had  been  planned  by  Paul 
Revere,  who  that  night  carried  the  news 
from  Boston  to  Lexington.  While  a  friend 
was  hanging  up  the  lanterns,  Revere 
quickly  crossed  the  river  in  a  rowboat, 
passing  close  by  a  British  war-ship  on 
his  way.  He  found  his  patriot  friends 
astir,  and  messengers  were  soon  hurrying 
in  all  directions  to  rouse  the  Americans.  Longfellow's  poem 
tells  how  Revere  sprang  to  his  saddle,  and  then  there  was— 

"A  hurry  of  hoofs  in  the  village  street, 
A  shape  in  the  moonlight,  a  bulk  in  the  dark, 
And  beneath,  from  the  pebbles,  in  passing,  a  spark 
Struck  out  by  a  steed  flying  fearless  and  fleet; 
That  was  all !  and  yet  through  the  gleam  and  the  light 
The  fate  of  a  nation  was  riding  that  night; 
And  the  spark  struck  out  by  that  steed  in  its  flight 
Kindled  the  land  into  flame  with  its  heat.   .   .   . 
You  know  the  rest.     In  the  books  you  have  read 
How  the  British  regulars  fired  and  fled, — 
How  the  farmers  gave  them  ball  for  ball, 
From  behind  each  fence  and  farmyard  wall; 
Chasing  the  redcoats  down  the  lane, 
Then  crossing  the  field  to  emerge  again 


Old  North  Church. 


PAUL    REVERE. 

Under  the  trees  at  the  turn  of  the  road, 
And  only  pausing  to  fire  and  load. 


97 


"So  through  the  night  rode  Paul  Revere; 
And  so  through  the  night  went  his  cry  of  alarm 
To  every  Middlesex  village  and  farm, — 
A  cry  of  defiance  and  not  of  fear, 
A  voice  in  the  darkness,  a  knock  at  the  door, 
And  a  word  that  shall  echo  forevermore  ! 
For,  borne  on  the  night  wind  of  the  past, 
Through  all  our  history,  to  the  last, 
In  the  hour  of  darkness  and  peril  and  need 
The  people  shall  waken  and  listen  to  hear 
The  hurrying  hoof  beats  of  that  steed, 
And  the  midnight  message  of  Paul  Revere." 

The  story  of  early  New  England  is  made  up  of  fights 
with  the  Indians  and  fights  with  the  British.  Nearly  all 
the  ground  over  which  we  have  traveled  has  been  fought 
for  again  and  again. 


'.AS 


NEW    ENGLAND. 


There  are  many  places  about  Boston  which  will  always 
be  noted  in  the  history  of  our  country.  Plymouth, 
where  the  Pilgrims  landed  after  they  crossed  the  ocean 
in  the  Mayflower,  is  only  thirty  miles  away.  We  reach 
it  by  railroad  in  little  more  than  an  hour.  It  is  now  a 
beautiful  little  city  of  about  eight  thousand  people,  and 
as  we  look  at  its  comfortable  homes  we  cannot  realize  the 
hardships  our  forefathers  suffered  during  their  first  winter 
in  New  England. 

The  Mayflower  came  into  the  harbor  at  Plymouth  on  a 
cold  December  day  in  the  year  1620.  She  had  just  one 
hundred  passengers.  They  had  been  driven  from  Eng 
land  to  Holland  on  account  of  their  religion,  and  they  had 

now  come  to  America  that  they 
might  be  able  to  worship  God  in 
their  own  way.  They  stepped 
from  their  boat  upon  a  great 
stone,  which  has  become  famous 
as  Plymouth  Rock.  This  rock- 
is  now  honored  by  all  New  Eng 
land  people,  and  we  find  it  in 
Plymouth  under  a  canopy  of 
dressed  stone,  and  notice  that ' 
the  figures  1620  have  been  cut 
upon  its  side. 

From  the  time  of  their  land 
ing,  the  Pilgrims  were  in  fear 
of  the  Indians.  They  had  no 

houses  at  first,  and  in  the  rude  huts  which  they  put  up 
they  suffered  such  privations  that  more  than  half  of  them 
died  within  less  than  a  year. 

We  find  many  relics  of  these  times  in  Pilgrim  Hall. 
Here  is  the  very  sword  which  Miles  Standish,  the  sol- 


Plymouth  Rock. 


SOUTH    BY    STEAMER.  99 

dier  of  the  colony,  used  in  his  fights  with  the  Indians, 
and,  what  is  even  more  interesting,  the  cradle  in  which  the 
first  white  child  born  in  New  England  was  rocked.  This 
cradle  is  a  little  wicker  affair  with  rockers  of  wood.  It  is 
much  like  a  basket  with  a  sort  of  hood  at  the  back.  As 
we  look  we  think  of  poor  little  Peregrine  White — for  that 
was  the  little  boy's  name — crying  in  it  all  alone,  and 
can  hardly  realize  how  our  country  has  grown  when  we 
are  told  that  there  are  now  more  than  two  million  babies 
born  in  the  United  States  every  year. 


XII.  FROM  NEW  ENGLAND  SOUTH  BY 
STEAMER. 

WE  leave  New  England  to-day.      We  are  bound  for 
the  lands  of  the  sun.     There  are   good  steamers 
from  Boston  to  all  our  southern  ports,  and  we  take  ship 
for  Norfolk,  Virginia.     We  steam  out  of 
Boston  harbor,  and  sail  about  Cape  Cod, 
down  the  Atlantic  coast,  past  New  Jer 
sey,   Delaware,   and    Maryland,   to   the 
mouth  of   Chesapeake    Bay.      Much  of 
the   time  we  are  out  of   sight  of   land, 
and  it  is  about  two  days  before  we  see 
the  lights  of  Cape  Charles,  and  steam 
over  what  is  known  as  Hampton  Roads       Captain  Joh^mith. 
to  the  mouth  of  the  James  River. 

Here  on  our  left  is  the  thriving  seaport  of  Norfolk,  and 
upon  our  right  Old  Point  Comfort,  where  Captain  John 
Smith  landed  with  his  party  from  England  when  he  first 
arrived  in  America  in  1607,  thirteen  years  before  Plymouth 


100  VIRGINIA. 

was  founded.  Captain  John  Smith  stopped  for  a  time 
upon  this  point,  near  where  the  little  town  of  Hampton 
now  is,  before  he  sailed  up  the  James  River  to  found 
Jamestown. 

It  was  at  Hampton  that  Captain  John  Smith  had  his 
first  meeting  with  the  Indians.  There  are  Indians  at 
Hampton  now,  and  we  find  them  more  friendly  than  those 
who  greeted  John  Smith.  Our  Indians  are  far  different 
from  the  half-naked  redskins,  with  paint  on  their  bodies 
and  feathers  on  their  heads,  who  roamed  through  America 
when  the  English  colonists  first  came.  The  Indians  we 
see  belong  to  the  large  Indian  college  at  Hampton  which 
is  supported  by  our  government.  Here  Indian  boys  and 
girls  from  many  of  the  savage  tribes  of  the  -West  come  to 
school.  They  dress  as  we  do,  and  learn  to  speak  and  read 
and  write  English.  The  boys  are  taught  trades  ;  the  girls 
are  taught  to  cook  and  sew  and  keep  house,  and  all  learn 
how  to  lead  civilized  lives. 

The  air  is  warmer  at  Hampton  than  it  is  in  New  Eng 
land.  We  see  other  plants  growing,  and  there  are  many 
things  about  us  which  show  us  that  we  are  in  a  different 
part  of  our  country. 

What  a  great  number  of  colored  people  are  here! 

More  than  half  of  the  folks  we  meet  in  our  drives  are 
colored.  We  are  now  in  Virginia,  the  lands  of  which, 
like  those  of  the  states  farther  south,  once  composed 
large  farms  or  plantations,  worked  by  negroes  as  slaves. 
These  people  belong  to  a  different  race  from  the  whites. 
The  first  of  them  were  brought  by  force  from  Africa  to 
America  to  be  used  as  slaves.  They  remained  in  slavery 
until  they  were  freed  during  the  great  Civil  War  between 
the  North  and  the  South.  After  the  war  was  over  nearly 
all  the  colored  people  remained  in  the  South.  In  some 


NORFOLK.  10 1 


southern  states,  such  as  South  Carolina  and  Mississippi, 
there  are  now  more  colored  people  than  whites,  and,  in 
deed,  there  are  so  many  of  them  that  they  make  up  more 
than  one  tenth  of  all  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

Our  colored  people  are,  as  a  rule,  good  citizens.  Some  of 
them  now  own  farms.  Many  send  their  children  to  school, 
and  we  find  colored  boys  and  girls  who  are  being  educated 
at  Hampton  College  with  the  Indians.  They  are  anxious 
to  learn,  and  some  of  them  are  bright  students. 

But  let  me  tell  you  an  interesting  thing  about  Norfolk. 
You  may  know  that  it  has  a  good  harbor,  for  it  is  at  the 
mouth  of  the  James  River,  and  large  steamships  can  come 
to  its  wharves.  You  may  have  heard  that  many  millions 
of  oysters  are  brought  here  in  the  shell  from  the  beds  at 
the  mouths  of  the  rivers  which  flow  into  Chesapeake  Bay, 
and  that  they  are  here  shucked  and  shipped  to  the  mar 
kets  all  over  the  country. 

These  are  not  the  things  I  want  to  tell  you  about.  It 
is  about  the  peanuts.  •  Norfolk  is  the  chief  peanut  market 
in  the  United  States.  From  here  tons  of  peanuts  are  sent 
out  every  year,  and  we  may  see  peanut  fields  all  about 
Norfolk,  and  also  in  other  parts  of  Virginia,  and  in  North 
Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Tennessee. 

When  we  think  that  peanuts  are  usually  solcf  in  small 
quantities,  at  five  cents  a  pint,  we  can  hardly  believe  that 
the  peanut  crop  can  be  of  much  value.  Still,  this  is  the 
case.  There  are  so  many  pints  of  peanuts  sold  every  year 
that  altogether  they  make  up  about  four  million  bushels, 
and  a  good  crop  sometimes  brings  as  much  as  ten  million 
dollars. 

Many  of  our  peanuts  are  shipped  from  Norfolk  to  Eu 
rope.  There  they  are  put  into  presses,  and  the  oil  is 
squeezed  out  of  them  by  heavy  machinery.  Peanut  oil 


IQ2    ; 


VIRGINIA. 


is    used  by  some   people    in   Europe  for  salads,   and  for 
other  things,  in  which  it  takes  the  place  of  olive  oil. 
But  how  do  you  think  peanuts  are  raised  ? 
They  do  not  grow  upon  trees,  nor  are  they  found  on 
bushes.      They  grow  underground,  and  might  be  called 
ground  pease.      They  are  planted  just  like  vegetables  or 
corn.     The  peanuts  are   first  shelled,  the  farmers  being 

careful  not  to  break  the 
little  red  skins  on  the  ker 
nels.  It  takes  about  two 
bushels  of  nuts  in  the 
shell  to  furnish  the  seed 
for  an  acre,  and  an  acre 
planted  with  peanuts  will 
produce,  according  to  the 
richness  of  the  soil,  from 
twenty  to  one  hundred 
bushels  of  nuts. 

The  nuts  are  planted 
in  hills  or  are  drilled  in 
rows,  much  like  potatoes. 
They  are  plowed  and 
hoed  to  keep  down  the 
weeds.  The  planting  is 
done  in  May.  Soon  the 

little  green  vines  peep  forth  from  the  ground.  They  spread 
out  over  the  hills,  sending  out  little  stalks  on  which  the 
flowers  grow.  These  with  the  seed  pods  finally  run  down 
into  the  soil  where  the  seeds  ripen  into  peanuts. 

In  the  fall  the  peanuts  are  ripe.  They  are  then  dug  up. 
The  vines  are  pulled  out,  and  after  the  dirt  is  shaken  off 
they  are  stacked  about  poles  seven  feet  high,  with  the 
nuts  hanging  to  them.  About  two  weeks  after  this  the 


A  Peanut  Vine. 


JAMESTOWN. 


103 


nuts  are  picked  from  the  vines  by  women  and  children, 
who  are  paid  so  much  a  bushel. 

The  nuts  are  still  covered  with  dirt,  and  the  next 'proc 
ess  is  cleaning.  This  is  done  by  machines  much  like  the 
windmills  used  by  farmers  for  cleaning  grain.  After  clean 
ing,  the  nuts  are  sorted  by  colored  women  and  children, 
who  pick  out  the  bad  ones  as  the  nuts  pass  by  them  on  a 
moving  belt  about  a  yard 
wide.  The  peanuts  are 
now  ready  for  market. 
They  are  put  into  bags 
and  shipped  to  all  parts 
of  the  world. 

From  Norfolk  we  take 
the  steamer  which  sails 
up  the  James  River  daily 
to  Richmond,  the  capital 
of  Virginia.  The  James 
is  very  wide  for  some  dis 
tance  from  its  mouth. 
The  lands  along  its  banks 
are  low,  and  the  soil 
seems  good.  As  we  look 
at  the  rich  farms  on  both 
sides  of  us,  we  can  ima 
gine  how  happy  Captain  John  Smith  and  his  company 
felt  as  they  sailed  over  this  same  river  now  almost  three 
hundred  years  ago.  We  have  traveled  but  a  few  hours 
before  we  reach  the  point  where  they  stopped  and  began 
building  what  they  thought  was  to  be  the  great  city  of  the 
New  World. 

This  was  Jamestown,  or,  as  they  called  it,  James  City. 
It  was  the  chief  town  of  Virginia  when  Virginia  included 
CARP.  N.  AM.— 7 


Tower  at  Jamestown. 


104  VIRGINIA. 

all  the  land  on  our  eastern  coast  from  Maine  to  Georgia. 
New  England  was  called  North  Virginia  at  first,  and  it 
was  not  until  Captain  John  Smith  visited  it  later  on  that 
it  was  named  New  England. 

There  is  nothing  like  a  city  now  at  Jamestown.  All 
that  was  left  when  I  visited  it  a  year  or  so  ago  was  the 
ruined  ivy-covered  tower  of  the  church.  This  stood  upon 
an  island  in  the  river.  The  waters,  I  could  see,  were  fast 
eating  away  the  banks  of  the  island,  and  it  must  soon  all 
disappear.  Not  a  man  was  in  sight.  The  only  sign  of 
life  about  the  ruins  was  a  cow,  which  was  eating  grass  near 
by ;  and  the  only  sound  I  heard  from  the  mainland,  as  we 
sailed  past,  was  the  croaking  of  a  frog  that  was  peeping 
out  of  the  water  by  the  bank. 

The  Jamestown  colony  had  indeed  a  much  worse  time 
than  the  Plymouth  colony.  The  Indians  fought  them. 
The  redskins  hid  themselves  in  the  woods  about  the  little 
settlement  and  for  a  long  time  killed  every  one  who  ven 
tured  out.  They  besieged  Jamestown,  so  that  at  one  time 
the  colonists  could  get  nothing  to  eat.  During  this  time 
they  ate  dogs  and  horses  and  all  sorts  of  reptiles,  such  as 
snakes  and  toads.  This  was  when  the  colony  had  grown 
to  the  extent  of  five  hundred  by  the  landing  of  more  ships 
from  England.  The  time  was  known  as  the  Starving 
Time ;  and  when  it  ended  with  the  arrival  of  a  shipload  of 
provisions,  only  sixty  out  of  the  five  hundred  were  alive. 

You  would  think  that  with  such  troubles  the  English 
would  have  given  up  trying  to  settle  America.  The  col 
onists  found  no  gold  as  they  had  been  told  they  would. 
They  saw,  however,  that  the  land  was  rich,  and  as  time 
went  on  they  found  that  there  was  much  money  to  be 
made  in  the  raising  of  tobacco. 

We  do   not  think  it  is  good  for  men  to  use  tobacco. 


TOBACCO.  105 

Still  this  plant  has  had  a  part  in  the  history  of  our  country. 
It  is  to-day  one  of  our  most  valuable  crops,  and  we  decide 
to  go  south  from  Richmond  to  visit  some  of  the  plantations 
and  learn  how  it  is  raised. 

No  one  in  Europe  knew  anything  about  tobacco  until 
Columbus  discovered  America.  The  tobacco  plant  was 
first  found  on  our  hemisphere,  and  one  of  the  most  won 
derful  stories  which  the  explorers  told,  when  they  returned 
to  Europe  in  those  early  days,  was  how  the  Indians  ate 
fire  and  breathed  smoke  out  of  their  nostrils.  Many  of  the 
travelers  learned  to  smoke  as  the  Indians  did,  using  pipes, 
and  blowing  out  the  smoke  through  their  noses.  They 
introduced  the  custom  into  Europe,  and  tobacco-smoking 
became  fashionable  among  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of 
that  time. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh  was  one  of  the  first  smokers  in 
England.  One  day,  it  is  said,  when  he  was  smoking  his 
pipe  a  servant  came  in  with  a  pitcher  of  ale  in  his  hand. 
This  man  had  never  heard  of  tobacco,  and  when  he  saw 
the  smoke  coming  out  of  Raleigh's  nose  he  thought  his 
master  was  burning  up,  and  threw  the  ale  over  him  to  put 
the  fire  out.  Raleigh  had  sent  several  expeditions  to 
America,  and  Ralph  Lane,  the  captain  of  one  of  these, 
brought  some  tobacco  home  with  him. 

As  the  custom  of  tobacco-using  grew,  tobacco  became 
very  valuable.  It  was  long  the  chief  crop  of  Virginia. 
At  one  time  the  colonists  used  it  as  money,  so  that  a  man 
could  take  pieces  of  tobacco  to  the  store  to  buy  sugar  and 
tea  and  other  things  for  his  table. 

We  now  sell  vast  quantities  of  tobacco  every  year  to  the 
people  of  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  and  South  America. 
More  of  this  article  is  produced  in  our  country  than  in  any 
other.  Our  tobacco  crop  is  sometimes  worth  as  much  as 


106  VIRGINIA. 

forty  million  dollars,  and  the  largest  part  of  it  is  used  in 
other  lands. 

Tobacco  is  now  raised  in  almost  every  one  of  our  states 
and  territories,  but  the  chief  tobacco  lands  are  in  Ken 
tucky,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Tennessee.  The 


Tobacco  Field. 

climate  and  soil  in  parts  of  these  states  seem  to  be  just 
fitted  for  raising  tobacco,  and  we  see  tobacco  fields  every 
where  as  we  ride  along  the  southern  boundary  of  Virginia 
and  into  North  Carolina.  The  leaves  of  the  tobacco  plant 
are  much  like  cabbage  leaves,  but  they  are  longer  and 
smoother  and  of  a  dark-green  color.  The  stalks  on 
which  the  leaves  grow  are  as  big  around  as  our  thumbs, 
and  some  are  so  tall  that  if  we  stripped  off  the  leaves  we 
could  use  them  for  canes. 


RAISING  TOBACCO. 


107 


It  is  by  no  means  an  easy  thing  to  raise  tobacco.  The 
seed  must  first  be  planted  in  a  sort  of  hotbed  or  plant  bed. 
This  bed  is  made  by  covering  a  piece  of  ground  with 
wood,  and  burning  it,  so  that  all  the  insects,  vegetable 
matter,  and  seeds  in  the  ground  are  cooked  out.  After 
this  the  bed  is  manured.  Then  the  seeds  are  sown,  and  a 


Tobacco  Auction. 

wide  sheet  of  very  thin  cloth  is  spread  out  above  the  bed 
to  keep  in  the  heat  and  keep  out  the  insects. 

How  big  do  you  think  a  tobacco  seed  is? 

It  is  so  little  that  you  could  put  a  million  of  them  in 
your  pocket.  It  is  not  bigger  than  a  mustard  seed,  and 
one  ounce  of  tobacco  seed  contains,  it  is  said,  three  hun 
dred  and  forty  thousand  seeds.  The  seeds  are  so  small 
that  they  have  to  be  mixed  with  ashes  or  dirt  before 
planting,  in  order  that  they  may  not  be  too  thickly  sown. 


108  THE  SOUTH. 

The  planting  is  done  in  the  spring.  After  a  short  time 
the  little  green  tobacco  sprouts  come  up,  looking  much  like 
cabbage  plants.  They  are  now  taken  up  and  set  out  in 
hills,  four  thousand  plants  to  the  acre.  They  are  carefully 
cultivated  throughout  the  summer  and  are  harvested  in  the 
fall.  As  the  plants  ripen  the  leaves  become  yellow.  At 
this  time  the  tobacco  farmer  cuts  the  stalks  off  close  to 
the  earth  and  hangs  them  on  sticks  which  are  stuck  in 
the  ground.  In  some  places  the  farmers  strip  the  leaves 
from  the  stalks  and  string  them  on  wire. 

The  leaves  must  now  be  dried  and  cured  before  they 
can  be  sold.  All  of  the  moisture  must  be  taken  out  of 
them.  This  is  done  in  what  are  known  as  tobacco  barns. 
We  see  these  barns  on  nearly  every  little  farm  as  we  ride 
through  the  tobacco  lands.  They  are  usually  wooden 
cabins  without  windows.  In  each  of  them  there  is  a  heat 
ing  arrangement  consisting  of  a  stove  with  flues  or  pipes 
which  run  through  the  barn.  The  tobacco  is  hung  up  in 
the  barn,  and  the  place  is  kept  as  hot  as  an  oven,  day  and 
night,  until  the  tobacco  is  thoroughly  cured.  The  leaves 
are  then  tied  up  in  little  bundles  and  carried  to  market. 
Much  of  the  tobacco  is  sent  to  the  factories  in  the  United 
States  to  be  prepared  for  smoking  and  chewing,  and  for 
making  cigars  and  cigarettes. 


THE   COTTON   BELT. 


109 


XIII.     IN    THE    LAND    OF    COTTON. 

CRAVING  the  tobacco  lands,  we  move  on  farther  south, 
and  soon  find  ourselves  in  the  great  cotton  belt  of  the 
United  States.  This  begins  in  North  and  South  Carolina 
and  runs  down  through  Georgia,  Mississippi,  Alabama, 
Louisiana,  Arkansas,  and  Texas.  There  is  a  little  cotton 
raised  in  some  other 
states,  but  these  states 
produce  the  greater 
part  of  our  crop,  Texas 
producing  the  most. 

Do  you  realize  how 
important  the  cotton 
crop  of  our  country  is? 

It  is  so  valuable  that 
if  all  the  gold  dug  in 

one  year  from  all  the  mines  on  the  earth  were  put  in  one 
pile,  and  that  part  of  our  cotton  crop  which  we  send  each 
year  to  Europe  were  stacked  up  beside  it  in  another,  the 
cotton  pile  would  be  worth  the  most. 

We  often  get  more  than  twice  as  much  from  our  cotton 
fields  as  from  our  gold  and  silver  mines.  We  raise  the 
best  cotton  in  the  world,  and  about  two  thirds  of  all  the 
cotton  clothes  worn  by  men  is  made  of  the  woolly  fiber 
from  our  plantations.  There  are  yellow-skinned  people 
in  Asia,  black-skinned  people  in  Africa,  red-skinned  In 
dians  in  South  America,  and  white-skinned  people  in  Eu 
rope  all  dressed  in  our  cottons,  and  every  one  of  us  wears 
more  or  less  cotton  cloth.  We  do  our  sewing  with  thread 
that  comes  from  this  plant.  Our  common  dresses  and 


The  Cotton  Belt. 


IIO  THE   SOUTH. 

shirts  are  made  from  it,  and  we  sleep  at  night  between 
sheets  the  material  of  which  was  once  fluffy  cotton. 

But  why  does  America  produce  so  much  more  cotton 
than  any  other  country? 

It  is  because  our  soil  and  climate  are  best  fitted  for  it. 
Cotton  requires  a  warm  climate  with  not  too  much  mois 
ture.  This  is  found  in  our  cotton  belt,  and  the  best  place 
of  all  for  cotton  is  on  the  string  of  islands  which  lies  off 
the  Atlantic  coast  in  the  states  of  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia.  Upon  these  islands  grows  what  is  known  as  the 
sea-island  cotton.  The  plants  here  are  four  or  five  times  as 
large  as  those  in  other  parts  of  our  country.  The  ripe  cot 
ton  upon  them  shines  like  satin,  and  it  is  made  up  of  fibers 
which  are  longer  than  those  of  any  other  cotton.  There 
is  some  cotton  in  Egypt  which  is  almost  as  good  as  the 
sea-island  cotton,  but  there  is  not  much  of  it  in  compar 
ison  with  the  vast  amount  produced  every  year  in  America. 

Have  you  ever  seen  a  cotton  field  ? 

A  field  of  ripening  cotton  forms  one  of  the  most  beau 
tiful  sights  in  the  world.  There  are  acres  of  plants,  which 
are  about  as  high  as  your  waist,  and  on  all  of  them  are 
white  bunches  of  cotton  which  look  like  soft  balls  of  snow. 

We  pass  many  such  fields  in  our  travels.  They  line 
both  sides  of  the  railroads.  Some  of  them  are  dotted  with 
people  who  are  picking  the  cotton.  Negroes  and  whites 
walk  through  the  rows  and  pull  the  soft  white  lint  from 
the  stalks.  The  pickers  sing  as  they  work,  and  their  rich, 
soft  voices  float  into  the  car  windows  as  we  ride  by. 

At  many  of  the  stations  there  are  huge  packages  or  bales 
of  cotton  ready  to  be  shipped  to  the  factories  of  New 
England  or  those  of  other  parts  of  the  country.  Some  arc 
to  go  to  the  seaports,  where  they  will  be  rebaled  and 
shipped  off  to  Europe.  Every  little  farmhouse  we  pass 


HOW  COTTON  GROWS 


III 


has  one  or  more  bales  in  its  yard.  Upon  the  country 
roads  we  see  wagons  filled  with  what  in  the  distance  looks 
like  newly  washed  wool,  but  what  is  really  freshly  picked 
cotton.  It  is  being  carried  to  the  gin,  where  the  seeds 
must  be  taken  out  before  the  cotton  can  be  sold. 

But  let  us  stop  and  visit  one  of  the  big  cotton  plantations 
of  South  Carolina.  There  is  a  field  which  is  not  yet  ripe. 
It  is  filled  with  green  plants  just  about  as  large  as  currant 


Picking  Cotton. 

bushes,  upon  which  are  the  green  bolls  containing  the 
cotton.  The  largest  bolls  are  about  the  size  of  a  walnut 
with  the  hull  on  it.  Farther  over  we  can  see  a  field  in 
which  some  of  the  bolls  are  cracking  open,  and  the  green 
bushes  seem  dusted  with  white.  These  bolls  are  almost 
ripe,  and  the  cotton  will  soon  be  ready  for  picking. 

Look  farther  over.  There  is  a  spot  where  the  land 
must  be  richer,  for  the  bolls  on  the  lower  branches  are  all 
open,  and  great  tufts  of  white,  as  large  as  pop-corn  balls, 


112 


THE   SOUTH. 


hang  out  as  if  ready  to  drop  into  the  hands  of  the  pickers. 
But  the  bolls  on  the  higher  branches  are  still  closed. 

Let  us  go  into  that  ripening  field  and  examine  the  cot 
ton.  Pull  some  bunches  of  white  from  the  bolls.  How 
easily  they  come  out,  and  how  soft  and  clean  the  stuff 
is!  What  are  those  hard  little  things  we  feel  inside  the 

white  wool  ?  Let  us 
pick  apart  the  cot 
ton  and  see.  Those 
are  the  cotton  seeds. 
They  are  as  big  as 
the  seeds  of  a  lemon, 
and  they  must  all  be 
gotten  out  before  the 
cotton  can  be  sold. 
We  shall  see  how  this 
is  done  later  on. 

It  is  from  seeds 
like  these  that  the 
cotton  plants  grow. 
We  ask  the  planter 
how  cotton  is  raised, 
and  he  tells  us  that  his  crop  was  planted  in  April,  in  rows 
of  hills  three  feet  or  more  apart.  He  describes  how  the 
sprouts  soon  came  through  the  soil,  and  how  by  the  middle 
of  June  this  field  was  filled  with  green  plants  upon  which 
were  many  beautiful  flowers.  The  blossoms  of  the  cotton 
plant  look  a  little  like  roses.  On  first  opening,  they  are 
white ;  the  next  day  they  are  red,  and  as  you  look  over  a 
cotton  field  in  blossom  you  seem  to  see  acres  of  beautiful 
roses.  Soon  the  blossoms  drop  off  and  the  bolls  of  cotton 
appear.  The  bolls  do  not  crack  open  until  they  are  ripe, 
and  then  the  beautiful  white  fibers  show  out. 


Cotton  Bales  Ready  for  Shipping. 


BALING  COTTON.  113 

From  what  we  have  seen  we  know  that  the  plants  do 
not  all  ripen  at  once.  The  pickers  have  to  go  over  a  field 
many  times.  The  picking  season  in  the  far  South  and  in 
Texas  begins  in  July.  Farther  north  it  begins  later,  and 
in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  some  of  the  cotton  is 
often  still  on  the  stalks  at  Christmas. 

After  the  cotton  is  picked  it  is  carried  in  wagons  to  the 
gin.  There  goes  such  a  wagonload  now.  Let  us  jump 
up  into  the  wagon  and  go  along  with  it.  The  negro 
driver  is  very  good-natured,  and  he  laughs  loudly  as  we 
climb  on  the  load  of  the  fleecy  white  cotton.  At  the 
ginhouse  we  crawl  out,  covered  with  lint,  and  look  on  as 
the  cotton  is  thrown  into  the  top  of  a  machine  so  that  it 
falls  between  fine  circular  saws  so  arranged  that  the  seeds 
will  just  pass  between  them.  The  cotton  is  caught  by  the 
teeth  of  the  saws,  while  the  seeds  drop  below. 

Between  the  saws  there  are  stiff  brushes  which  pull  the 
cotton  out  of  the  saw  teeth  and  roll  it  out  in  a  beautiful, 
fleecy  sheet,  so  that  it  drops  on  the  floor  on  one  side  of 
the  gin  looking  like  a  great  drift  of  snow. 

The  cotton  is  now  ready  for  baling.  By  this  is  meant 
putting  it  in  such  bundles  that  it  may  not  take  up  much 
space  on  the  cars  or  in  the  ships  upon  which  it  is  to  be 
carried  to  the  markets.  This  is  done  by  great  pressing 
machines,  which  squeeze  the  cotton  together  so  that  a 
great  quantity  of  it  is  put  into  a  package  about  four  feet 
square  and  five  feet  in  length.  It  is  next  wrapped  in 
rough  cloth  much  like  coffee  sacking,  and  is  bound  with 
bands  of  hoop  iron.  The  ordinary  bale  weighs  from  four 
hundred  and  fifty  to  five  hundred  pounds,  and  is  worth 
from  thirty  to  forty  dollars,  though  its  price  may  vary 
above  or  below  this,  according  to  the  size  of  the  crop  of 
cotton  raised  in  different  parts  *of  the  world. 


114  THE    SOUTH. 

But  what  becomes  of  the  cotton  seed  ? 

This  is  very  carefully  saved.  It  is  so  valuable  that  it  is 
estimated  that  the  cotton  seed  raised  in  America  is  worth 
more  than  one  hundred  million  dollars  a  year.  A  few 
years  ago  it  was  not  supposed  to  be  worth  anything,  and 
it  was  burned  or  thrown  away  as  useless.  Now  the  seeds 


Baling   Cotton. 

are  saved  for  the  making  of  oil  and  other  things.  They 
have  a  great  deal  of  oil  in  them.  They  are  first  ground, 
and  the  oil  is  then  squeezed  out  in  great  presses. 

Cotton-seed  oil  is  largely  used  for  the  making  of  soap. 
Much  of  it  goes  into  certain  kinds  of  patent  butters,  such 
as  oleomargarine,  and  a  large  part  of  it,  when  purified,  is 
used  for  cooking,  for  salads,  and  for  other  things  where  it 


COTTON    FACTORIES.  115 

% 

takes  the  place  of  olive  oil.  Indeed,  it  is  said  that  a  large 
percentage  of  the  olive  oil  sold  in  the  United  States  is 
really  cotton-seed  oil.  Many  of  the  laborers  who  work  in 
the  cotton-seed-oil  mills  do  not  butter  the  bread  which 
they  take  with  them  for  their  lunches.  They  use  the  oil 
in  place  of  butter,  putting  the  slices  cut  from  the  loaf 
under  the  press,  where  the  sweet,  warm,  fresh  oil  is  tric 
kling  out,  and  then  eating  them  with  a  relish. 

But  let  us  follow  the  cotton  wool  still  further,  and  see 
how  it  is  made  into  cloth.  Until  within  recent  years  all 
of  our  great  cotton  factories  were  in  New  England.  We 
saw  many  at  Lowell,  Fall  River,  Manchester,  Lawrence, 
and  other  cities  as  we  passed  through,  and  we  know  that 
the  most  of  our  cotton  is  still  made  there.  We  find,  how 
ever,  that  many  great  factories  are  now  being  built  in  the 
South.  There  are  large  factories  at  Charlotte  in  North 
Carolina,  at  Spartanburg,  Greenville,  and  Columbia  in 
South  Carolina,  also  at  Atlanta  and  Augusta  in  Georgia. 
The  cotton  states  have  good  water  power,  and  the  cotton 
is  so  near  to  the  mills  that  they  can  make  cloth  very 
cheaply. 

The  factory  we  visit  is  at  Spartanburg,  South  Carolina. 
It  is  in  a  brick  building  covering  several  acres  of  ground. 
The  factory  has  three  stories,  made  up  of  large  rooms 
filled  with  interesting  machinery,  and  there  are  hundreds 
of  white  men  and  women  at  work  within  it.  The  cotton 
is  taken  almost  directly  from  the  gin  to  the  factory.  We 
can  imagine  ourselves  to  be  following  a  bale  as  it  passes 
through  one  room  after  another,  until  what  was  at  first 
only  a  great  bag  of  white  stuff  is  turned  into  cloth. 

How  is  it  done? 

It  is  not  an  easy  thing  to  make  this  cloth  which  we  buy 
for  a  few  cents  a  yard.  Take  a  piece  of  cotton  batting,  for 


n6 


THE    SOUTH. 


this  is  much  like  the  cotton  as  it  lies  in  the  bale,  and  pull 
it  apart.  What  queer  stuff  it  is !  It  is  made  of  thousands 
of  little  white  hairs,  so  fine  that  several  of  them  twisted 
together  would  not  equal  the  thickness  of  one  of  the  hairs 
of  your  head.  These  little  cotton  hairs  are  called  fibers. 
They  are  not  as  long  as  your  finger.  There  are  millions 


Making  Cotton  Threads. 

of  them  in  a  few  pounds  of  cotton,  and  in  our  big  bale 
there  are  probably  more  of  those  little  hairs  than  there  are 
people  in  the  United  States.  Still,  of  the  little  cotton 
hairs  the  strongest  of  cloth  and  thread  are  to  be  made. 

Now  let  us  follow  our  bale  as  it  goes  through  the  mill. 
It  is  first  taken  apart,  and  the  cotton  is  thrown  upon  great 
cylinders  or  rollers  called  openers.  These  pull  the  hairs 


COTTON    FACTORIES. 


117 


apart  and  separate  each  of  them  as  far  as  possible  from  the 
others.  The  cotton  thus  loosened  is  passed  through  other 
rollers  the  sharp  teeth  of  which  pick  out  the  dirt,  so  that 
when  the  cotton  comes  from  them  not  a  stick,  a  leaf,  or  a 
grain  of  sand  is  left  in  it.  It  now  feels  very  soft  and  is 
even  whiter  than  it  was  in  the  bale. 


Mule  Spinner. 

The  next  'process  is  called  carding.  Here  the  cotton  is 
run  through  rollers  covered  with  little  wire  teeth  so  fine 
that  there  are  more  than  a  score  of  them  on  a  space  as 
large  as  your  finger  nail.  These  little  teeth  brush  and 
comb  the  cotton  much  as  you  comb  your  hair.  As  the 
cotton  passes  through  them  they  pull  the  tangled  hairs 
apart  and  make  them  lie  almost  altogether  one  way,  so 


Il8  THE    SOUTH. 

that  when  they  come  out  at  the  other  end  of  the  rollers 
they  are  in  the  shape  of  a  rope  of  soft  cotton  yarn.  It  is 
of  this  rope  that  the  threads  are  to  be  made. 

The  rope  is  as  big  around  as  a  broomstick.  It  looks 
big  enough  to  make  a  dozen  threads,  but  it  is  not  nearly 
large  enough  to  make  one.  It  is  as  soft  as  down.  It  is 
doubled  again  and  again  as  it  goes  through  machines 
which  twist  it  finer  and  finer,  until  at  last  it  is  not  bigger 
around  than  a  fishing  line.  It  is  still  soft,  however.  An 
other  strand  of  the  same  size,  which  has  been  twisted  from 
another  cotton  rope,  is  now  joined  with  it,  and  the  two  are 
twisted  and  retwisted  by  machinery  until  they  are  as  small 
as  the  finest  cotton  thread  used  for  sewing.  This  is  the 
thread  for  the  cloth. 

As  the  thread  comes  from  the  machines  some  of  it  is 
rolled  upon  long  spools,  called  spindles,  by  what  is  known 
as  the  mule  spinner.  The  mule  spinner  takes  the  place  of 
the  old  spinning  wheel,  save  that  it  winds  hundreds  of 
spools  at  one  time,  one  machine  often  doing  as  much  work, 
perhaps,  as  a  thousand  women  could  do.  Some  threads 
are  wound  upon  rollers  or  beams  of  the  width  of  the  cloth 
to  be  made.  These  threads  are  to  be  the  long  threads  of 
the  cloth. 

The  short  threads,  or  what  is  known  as  the  filling,  are 
first  wound  upon  small  bobbins,  and  then  are  thrown  from 
one  side  of  the  cloth  to  the  other  by  the  shuttle,  which 
carries  the  thread  back  and  forth  through  the  long  threads 
at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  times  or  more  a  min 
ute.  This  is  called  weaving,  and  the  machines  with  which 
the  weaving  is  done  are  the  looms.  The  machinery  in  the 
weaving  rooms  makes  a  great  din,  and  the  looms  work  so 
fast  that  thousands  of  yards  of  cloth  are  woven  in  one  fac 
tory  in  a  day. 


THE    RICEFIELDS. 


119 


XIV.     AMONG    THE    RICEFIELDS. 

WE  see  more  and  more  cotton  as  we  go  farther  south 
into  Georgia.     There  are  cornfields  here  and  there. 
We  visit  great  peach   orchards,  and   ride   through   fields 
devoted  to  the  raising  of  watermelons  for  the  markets  of 
the  North.      There  are  even  more  colored  people  here  than 


Ox  Carts. 

in  Virginia,  and  we  see  scores  of  them  at  the  stations,  in  the 
fields  at  work,  or  standing  in  the  doors  of  their  little  cabins, 
watching  the  train  as  it  goes  whizzing  by. 

How  many  mules  there  are!  In  some  sections  of  the 
southern  states  there  are  more  mules  than  horses.  Now 
and  then  we  see  a  negro  driving  an  ox  hitched  with  rope 
harness  to  a  rude,  old-fashioned  cart. 

CARP.   N.   AM. — 8 


I2O 


THE    SOUTH. 


The  towns  we  pass  are  not  so  large  as  those  of  New 
England,  but  new  buildings  are  springing  up  about  many 
of  them,  and  near  each  of  the  cotton  mills  there  is  a  little 
colony  of  new  houses. 

At  Atlanta  we  find  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  most 
thriving  cities  of  our  southern  section.     It  is  a  great  busi 
ness  and   manufacturing  center.      It  is   situated  so  high 
above  the  sea  that  it  has  a  delightful  cli 
mate  in  the  summer,  and  it  is  so  far  south 
that  its  winters  are  not  cold.     We  spend 
some  time  in  the  handsome  state  capitol, 
take   a  stroll  under  the  old   forest  trees 
along  Peachtree  Street,  upon  which  are 
some  of  the  finest  houses  of  the  city  ;  and 
then  we  go  out  upon  the  electric  cars  to 
see  the  battlefields  where  some  terrible 
fighting  was  done  during  the  Civil  War. 
Atlanta  has  railroads  branching  out  in 
every  direction,  and   we   get  cars  here 
which  carry  us  eastward  to  the  Atlantic 
Ocean.    We  visit  the  islands  off  the  coast 
where    the   famed    sea-island    cotton   is 
raised  ;  and  along  the  lowlands  bordering 
the  Atlantic  we  travel  through  a  country 
spotted  with  fields  of  rice.     The  rice  is 
now  almost  ready  for  cutting.     It  is  of  a  bright  yellow  col 
or,  and  at  first  sight  it  makes  us  think  of  wheat  or  oats. 
As  we  get  nearer  we  see  that  the  straw  is  different  from 
wheat  straw,  and  that  the  little  grains  upon  it  are  not  at 
all  like  any  grains  raised  in  the  North. 

We  can  see  water  shining  out  in  the  fields  at  the  roots 
of  the  plants,  and  we  are  told  that  the  best  rice  is  raised 
where  the  ground  can  be  flooded  with  fresh  water,  and 


Rice. 


THE    RICEFIELDS.  121 

that  a  great  deal  of  moisture  is  needed  to  develop  the  crop. 
The  plants  must  also  have  plenty  of  hot  sun,  and  hence  we 
find  the  best  rice-raising  lands  of  the  United  States  in  the 
lower  parts  of  the  warm  South  Atlantic  coast  and  in  the 
hot,  moist  country  about  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi 
River.  The  states  of  South  Carolina,  Louisiana,  and 
Texas  produce  the  most  of  the  rice  raised  in  the  United 
States,  and  the  chief  rice-shipping  ports  are  Charleston, 
Savannah,  and  New  Orleans. 

But  let  us  visit  one  of  the  rice  plantations  near  Charles 
ton,  South  Carolina.  We  shall  learn  that  raising  rice  is 
by  no  means  an  easy  thing.  The  fields  have  little  banks 
about  their  edges,  so  that  the  water,  when  let  in  upon 
them,  will  stay  there,  forming  a  pond  covering  the  whole 
field.  The  plants  are  grown  in  the  mud.  The  beds  are 
flooded,  and  in  a  short  time  the  sprouts  poke  their  little 
green  heads  up  through  the  water.  After  this  the  water 
is  drawn  off  until  the  stalk  forms  a  joint.  The  plants  are 
then  plowed  and  hoed.  They  are  again  flooded,  and  the 
water  is  allowed  to  remain  about  their  roots  until  the  straw 
turns  yellow,  when  the  rice  is  ripe  and  ready  for  cutting. 

Rice  is  harvested  much  as  wheat  and  oats  are  harvested. 
The  straw  is  cut  and  shocked  up  in  the  fields,  and  after  a 
short  time  thrashed  to  get  the  grain  out.  When  the 
thrashing  is  done  the  process  of  preparing  the  rice  for  the 
market  has  only  begun.  Each  little  grain  of  rice  has  a 
hull  on  it,  which  does  not  come  off  in  the  thrashing.  This 
hull  sticks  as  tight  to  the  grain  as  though  it  were  glued, 
and  the  rice,  before  it  can  be  sold,  has  to  be  cleaned  by 
running  it  through  hulling  machines.  As  it  comes  out  of 
the  machines  it  is  rough,  and  other  machines  are  used,  in 
which  each  grain  of  rice  is  rubbed  and  polished  until  it  is 
smooth  and  glossy. 


122 


THE    SOUTH. 


Some  rice  is  raised  on  the  higher  lands  without  water. 
This  is  known  as  upland  rice.  It  is  grown  in  almost  the 
same  way  as  wheat  and  oats  are  grown  in  the  North. 

The  greatest  ricefields  of  the  world  are  in  Asia,  where 
the  rice  is  raised  in  flooded  fields.  In  some  parts  of  that 
continent  so  many  people  eat  rice  that  it  takes  the  place 


A  Ricefield. 

which  bread  has  with  us,  and,  indeed,  it  is  said  that  one 
fourth  of  all  of  the  people  of  the  world  live  upon  rice. 

Have  you  ever  heard  how  rice  first  came  to  America? 
There  were  no  rice  plants  here  until  about  two  hundred 
years  after  Columbus  discovered  this  continent.  Take 
your  map  of  Africa,  and  find  the  island  of  Madagas 
car,  which  lies  off  its  east  coast.  It  was  from  that  island 


CHARLESTON. 


123 


that  a  ship  started  out  in  1694,  and  after  a  long  voyage 
came  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  was  driven  by  a  storm 
into  the  port  of  Charleston.  The  captain  of  the  steamer 
had  a  sack  of  rough  rice  with  him.  Upon  leaving  he  gave 
the  rice  to  one  of  the  citizens  of  Charleston,  who  planted 
some  of  it  in  a  low  place  in  his  garden.  A  big  crop  was 
the  result.  This  man  gave  the  seeds  to  his  friends,  and 
within  a  short  time  rice  became  one  of  the  chief  products 
of  this  part  of  the  United  States. 


A  Street  in  Charleston. 

We  see  bags  of  rice  ready  for  shipment  on  the  wharves 
of  the  Charleston  harbor.  There  are  steamers  loading 
cotton  for  Europe,  and  other  ships  which  are  being  filled 
with  a  sort  of  rock  dug  from  the  ground  near  here,  which 
is  of  great  value  for  fertilizing. 

Charleston  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  cities  of  the 
South.  It  is  built  on  a  peninsula  formed  by  the  mouths 
of  the  Ashley  and  Cooper  rivers.  It  is  laid  out  in  square 


124  THE    SOUTH. 

blocks,  the  cross  streets  extending  from  river  to  river,  and 
the  other  streets  cutting  them  at  right  angles.  Charleston 
is  a  very  old  city ;  it  was  founded  only  sixty  years  after 
the  Pilgrims  landed  at  Plymouth ;  and  it  has  always  been 
noted  as  an  important  commercial  point.  Many  of  its 
streets  are  wide,  and  some  of  them  are  lined  with  great 
houses,  at  the  sides  of  which  are  broad  lawns  and  gardens. 
Many  of  the  old  mansions  have  big  pillars  in  front  and  at 
the  sides,  which  support  porches  or  galleries,  forming  cool 
places  during  the  hot  summers. 

Back  of  some  cf  these  old  houses  we  can  see  the  quarters 
and  cabins  which  were  occupied  by  the  negroes  in  slave 
times  ;  and  we  meet  so  many  colored  people  on  the  streets 
that  we  are  reminded  that  South  Carolina  has  a  large 
number  of  this  race  among  its  inhabitants. 

After  a  walk  along  East  Bay  Street,  we  take  a  stroll 
upon  the  Battery,  facing  the  sea.  We  then  get  on  the 
little  steamer  which  goes  several  times  a  day  to  the  most 
interesting  points  in  the  harbor.  We  visit  Fort  Sumter, 
where  the  first  shot  was  fired  at  our  flag  at  the  beginning 
of  the  great  Civil  War.  The  fort  is  on  a  little  island  not 
very  far  from  the  shore.  The  island  is  made  of  rocks.  It 
is  surrounded  by  brick  walls  about  forty  feet  high  and 
eight  feet  thick.  Grass-covered  earthworks  are  still  to  be 
seen  on  some  parts  of  the  wall. 


SAVANNAH. 


125 


XV.     A   VISIT   TO    A    TURPENTINE    FARM. 

T  EAVING  Charleston,  a  few  hours'  ride  by  rail  to  the 
L/  southward  brings  us  to  the  great  seaport  of  Savannah, 
nearthe  mouth  of  the  Savannah  River.  Savannah  is  famous 
for  its  cotton  presses  and  rice  mills,  and  is  especially  noted 
as  the  chief  port  of  the  world  in  its  shipment  of  turpentine 
and  rosin.  At  certain  seasons  of  the  year  the  wharves  of 
Savannah  are  covered  with  barrels  of  such  stuff,  awaiting 
the  ships  that  are  to  take  them  to  Europe.  Large  quan 
tities  are  also  being  loaded  upon  cars  and  steamers  to  be 
sent  to  every  part  of  the  United  States. 


On  the  Wharves  at  Savannah. 


Turpentine  and  rosin  are  made  from  the  sap  or  gum  of 
the  long-leafed  pine  tree.  Turpentine  is  the  liquid  white 
spirit  which  is  used  in  making  varnish  and  other  things. 
Rosin  waxes  the  bows  of  violins ;  it  is  also  used  in  the 


126  THE    SOUTH. 

manufacture  of  soap,  and  it  is  especially  valuable  for  var 
nish.  The  furniture  which  we  use  is  probably  varnished 
with  the  juice  of  the  pine  trees  of  the  forests  of  Georgia  or 
the  Carolinas,  and  from  the  same  source  comes  the  tur 
pentine  used  to  mix  the  paint  on  our  houses. 

The  process  of  getting  out  turpentine  and  rosin  is  known 
as  turpentine  farming.  A  turpentine  farm  is  perhaps  the 
queerest  kind  of  a  farm  in  the  world.  It  is  a  forest  of 
pine  trees,  each  of  which  has  been  so  cut  and  scarred  that 
the  sap  oozes  out  and  may  be  collected  for  making  tur 
pentine.  There  are  farms  of  this  kind  all  along  our  South 
Atlantic  coast  from  North  Carolina  to  Florida,  and  farther 
inland  along  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  Louisiana.  These  re 
gions  have  forests  so  vast  that  you  might  travel  for  miles 
through  them  without  seeing  a  human  being.  You  would 
meet  with  few  cultivated  spots,  and  would  see  little  else 
than  trees,  trees,  trees,  and  now  and  then  gangs  of  men 
getting  out  lumber  or  gathering  turpentine. 

For  many  years  the  most  of  our  turpentine  came  from 
the  woods  of  North  Carolina  ;  but  turpentine  farming  soon 
kills  the  trees,  and  the  pine  trees  there  are  now  almost 
used  up.  The  best  turpentine  farms  are  now  farther  south. 
There  are  hundreds  about  the  cities  of  Savannah  and 
Brunswick,  and  we  shall  see  them  in  Alabama,  Louisiana, 
and  other  parts  of  the  South. 

Each  farm  consists  of  thousands  of  pine  trees.  The 
trees  are  not  large  around,  but  they  are  perfectly  straight, 
and  so  tall  that  they  sometimes  reach  to  the  height  of  an 
eight-story  house  before  their  branches  begin. 

There  is  little  underbrush  in  such  forests,  and  we  can 
easily  walk  through  the  woods.  Every  tree  has  one  or 
two  scarred  places  upon  it  where  the  bark  and  wood  have 
been  chopped  off.  These  places  begin  at  the  foot  of  the 


TURPENTINE    FARMING. 


127 


tree  and  extend  upward  as  high  as  your  waist.  As  we 
look  we  see  that  a  hole  or  box  has  been  cut  in  the  tree  at 
the  foot  of  each  scarred  place,  and  that  the  white  sap  is 
oozing  from  the  wood  and  running  down  into  the  box. 

The  size  of  a  turpentine  farm  is  known  by  the  number  of 
boxes.  Ten  thousand  five  hundred  boxes  make  what  is 
called  a  crop.  There  are  farms  which  have  millions  of  boxes, 
and  in  which,  during  the  fall  and  winter,  hundreds  of  ne 
groes  are  kept  busy  scar 
ring  the  trees  and  cutting 
out  the  boxes.  The  men 
labor  in  gangs,  under  an 
overseer.  Two  men  work 
together,  taking  a  tree  at 
a  time.  One  man  stands 
on  each  side  of  a  tree, 
with  an  ax  in  his  hand, 
and  they  chop  in  turns. 
For  this  reason,  whenever 
it  is  possible,  a  right- 
handed  man  and  a  left- 
handed  man  work  to 
gether. 

The  gathering  of  tur 
pentine  begins  as  soon  as  the  sap  moves  in  the  spring. 
At  this  time  it  oozes  out  in  thick  white  drops  on  the  cut 
places  and  falls  down  into  the  boxes.  It  soon  hardens, 
forming  a  gum  about  as  thick  as  molasses. 

Every  few  days  the  boxes  fill  up,  and  the  men  come 
along  and  scoop  out  the  liquid.  Each  man  has  a  keg  with 
him,  and  he  empties  the  sap  into  it  as  he  goes  from  tree  to 
tree.  When  his  keg  is  full  he  carries  it  to  a  barrel,  in 
which  it  is  taken  to  the  turpentine  distillery. 


Scarring  the  Trees. 


128 


THE    SOUTH. 


The  trees  must  be  cut  again  and  again  during  the  sum 
mer  to  keep  the  wounds  fresh.  Such  drops  of  the  sap  as 
harden  are  scraped  down  into  the  boxes.  The  next  year 
a  place  is  cut  out  on  the  tree  a  little  higher  up,  to  furnish 
turpentine  gum  for  the  next  season,  but  that  of  the  second 


A  Turpentine  Distillery. 

year  is  not  so  good  as  that  of  the  first.  The  sap  grows 
darker  from  year  to  year,  and  after  five  or  six  years  the 
tree  gives  forth  sap  so  dark  that  it  is  not  valuable,  and  the 
tree  is  ready  to  die. 

But  let  us  follow  the  barrel  which  we  have  seen  filled 
with  the  juice  of  the  pine  tree,  and  see  how  it  is  turned 
into  rosin  and  turpentine.  As  the  sap  oozes  out  it  is  of  a 
waxy,  gummy  nature.  The  question  is  to  get  the  turpen 
tine  out.  It  will  take  eight  barrels  of  gum  to  make  two 
barrels  of  turpentine,  and  what  remains  will  be  rosin. 

This  is  done  at  the  turpentine  distillery.  We  can  tell 
we  are  nearing  it  long  before  we  get  there  by  the  smell  of 


THE    PINE    FORESTS.  129 

the  rosin.  It  makes  us  think  of  a  big  canning  factory,  the 
smell  is  so  like  that  of  the  wax  used  for  sealing  the  tops 
of  fruit  cans.  The  odor  grows  stronger  as  we  approach 
the  big  shed  of  the  distillery,  and  we  now  perceive  that 
the  smell  comes  from  the  gum  as  it  is  being  boiled  to 
get  out  the  turpentine. 

Let  us  see  how  this  is  done.  The  gum  is  first  mixed 
with  water,  and  then  put  into  a  great  kettle  set  in  a  brick 
furnace  in  which  hot  fires  are  kept.  As  the  gum  melts, 
the  turpentine  in  it  rises  up  in  a  vapor  and  goes  off  into 
pipes  kept  cold  by  causing  streams  of  spring  water  to  flow 
over  them.  As  the  vapor  enters  the  pipes  it  condenses, 
turns  to  a  liquid  again,  and  at  the  end  flows  out  in  a  stream 
of  clear  white  turpentine.  It  is  now  run  into  barrels,  and 
shipped  to  the  markets.  The  rosin  which  has  been  left  in 
the  kettle  by  the  boiling  has  become  thick.  It  is  also  put 
into  barrels,  where  it  soon  hardens,  and  is  then  ready  for 
sale. 

It  is  from  the  same  kind  of  trees  that  produce  the  tur 
pentine  that  some  of  the  most  valuable  lumber  of  the 
United  States  comes.  At  every  few  miles  along  the  rail 
roads  there  are  sawmills  where  such  trees  are  being  made 
into  lumber,  to  be  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 
This  lumber  is  sometimes  known  as  the  Georgia  yellow 
pine.  It  is  used  largely  for  floors  and  the  inside  woodwork 
of  houses,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  lumber  yard  in  the  north 
ern  part  of  our  country  where  you  will  not  find  some  of  it. 

The  forests  of  the  South  are  of  great  value.  Many  rail 
roads  are  now  built  to  bring  the  lumber  to  market,  and 
there  are  vast  stretches  of  country  in  this  part  of  the 
United  States  which  are  nothing  but  woods.  There  are 
many  swamps  which  contain  cypress  trees,  gum  trees,  and 
other  good  timber.  Some  swamps  are  so  large  that  they 


130 


THE   SOUTH. 


have  never  been  explored,  and  the  Okefmokee  Swamp  in 
Georgia  has  regions  which  are  as  dense  as  the  jungles  of 
tropical  countries.  These  swamps  have  many  quagmires 
in  which  a  horse  or  a  man  might  sink  out  of  sight.  They 
contain  all  sorts  of  snakes,  and  in  some  of  the  swamps 
of  Georgia  and  Florida  alligators  by  the  hundreds  crawl 
through  the  muddy  waters. 


XVI.     FLORIDA    AND    ITS    ORANGE    GROVES. 

NOW  suppose  we  take  a  run  down  into  Florida.  This 
peninsula  forms  the  southeastern  end  of  our  Atlantic 
coast.  It  is  one  of  the  tropical  parts  of  the  United  States, 
and  very  different  from  the  lands  farther  north.  Much  of 
the  peninsula  is  low  and  sandy,  and  the  Everglades,  at  its 
southern  end,  are  largely  made  up  of  swamps.  Some 
parts  of  Florida  are  so  near  the  level  of  the  sea  that  it 
looks  as  though  the  waters  might  rush  in  and  drown  the 
people.  At  the  end  of  the  peninsula  the  land  drops  out 
of  sight,  a  little  hill  poking  its  head  up  here  and  there 
through  the  water,  and  forming  the  Florida  Keys,  which 


FLORIDA.  131 

end  in  Key  West.  Key  West  is  a  habitable  little  island 
having  a  well-fortified  harbor.  The  people  are  chiefly 
engaged  in  making  the  Key  West  cigars. 

The  railroad  from  Savannah  brings  us  first  to  Jackson 
ville,  on  the  St.  Johns  River.  Jacksonville  is  the  largest 
city  of  Florida.  It  is  the  chief  seaport  of  the  state.  The 


Live  Oaks  and  Spanish  Moss. 

ocean  steamers  sail  to  it  up  the  St.  Johns,  which  at  this 
point  is  so  wide  that  it  looks  like  an  arm  of  the  ocean. 
We  find  many  ships  at  the  wharf,  and  there  are  side- 
wheel  river  steamers,  upon  which  we  shall  travel  far  up  the 
St.  Johns  into  the  heart  of  Florida. 

Leaving  Jacksonville,  we  go  for  a  long  distance  through 
what  seems  to  be  a  great  inland  lake.     We  sail  for  miles 


132 


THE    SOUTH. 


and  miles  before  the  river  grows  narrower,  and  we  then 
pass  through  forests  of  palmetto  trees,  live  oaks,  and 
cypresses,  the  branches  of  which  are  loaded  down  with 
Spanish  moss.  This  moss  looks  much  like  frosted  silver. 
It  is  a  sort  of  air  plant  which  crawls  all  over  the  trees, 
hanging  down  from  the  limbs,  and  in  some  places  almost 
reaching  the  water.  Much  of  the  earth  along  the  banks 
is  sandy.  We  miss  everywhere  the  green  turf  which 
we  have  in  other  parts  of  our  country ;  and  although  our 
surroundings  are  beautiful,  we  long 
for  the  velvety  grass  of  the  North. 

We  find,  however,  that  every  part 
of  the  world  has  its  own  beauties. 
The  wild  flowers  of  Florida  comprise 
many  that  are  grown  in  northern  hot 
houses.  In  some  places  we  go 
through  jungles  so  dense  that  we 
imagine  ourselves  in  the  hot  lands  of 
Africa.  The  very  air  feels  different. 
It  is  soft  and  balmy  in  the  evenings 
and  mornings,  but  at  midday,  even 
on  the  river,  the  sun  is  so  hot  that 
we  have  to  keep  under  cover. 

We  see  curious  birds  on  our  voy 
age.  There  are  herons  and  buzzards  ;  and  long-legged 
cranes  and  big-throated  pelicans  stand  in  the  mud  on  the 
edge  of  the  river.  Now  and  then  we  see  alligators  scrambling 
down  the  muddy  banks  as  they  hear  the  noise  of  the  boat. 
The  streams  which  flow  into  the  St.  Johns  furnish  ex 
cellent  fishing.  Florida  is  one  of  the  best  fishing  grounds 
in  the  United  States.  It  is  the  home  of  the  tarpon,  the 
biggest  fish  we  have  that  can  be  caught  with  a  hook. 
Many  a  tarpon,  if  it  stood  upon  its  tail,  would  be  as  tall 


A  Pelican. 


ORANGE    ORCHARDS. 


133 


as  a  man,  and  some  have  been  caught  which  weighed  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  Tarpon  fishing  re 
quires  a  very  strong  line.  The  sportsman  has  often  to 
fight  with  the  fish  for  hours,  letting  it  run  this  way  and 
that  with  the  hook  until  it  is  tired  out  and  can  at  last  be 
dragged  to  the  boat. 

We  go  quite  a  long  distance  up  the  St.  Johns  before  we 
reach  the  best  orange-growing  districts  of  Florida.      There 


An  Orange  Orchard. 

are  oranges  in  all  parts  of  the  state,  but  those  of  the  north 
are  likely  to  be  spoiled  by  the  frost.  There  are  some  ex 
cellent  groves  on  what  is  known  as  the  Indian  River. 

We  have  no  trouble  in  getting  a  permit  to  visit  the 
orchards.  Oranges  are  as  common  in  Florida  as  apples 
are  in  New  York  or  New  England,  and  we  are  asked  to 
go  in  among  the  trees  and  pick  all  we  can  eat. 


134 


THE    SOUTH. 


How  delicious  the  oranges  taste  when  they  come  from 
the  trees!  They  are  more  juicy  than  any  we  can  buy  in 
the  stores.  How  full  the  trees  are!  Some  of  them  are 
so  loaded  with  fruit  that  the  golden  balls  shine  out  every 
where  through  the  emerald-green  leaves.  It  is  said  that 
there  are  some  trees  in  Florida  which  bear  as  many  as  five 
thousand  oranges  in  a  single  year. 


A  Pineapple  Field. 

We  ask  how  orange  trees  are  raised.  The  owner  of  one 
of  the  groves  tells  us  that  it  takes  from  five  to  ten  years 
after  planting  for  an  orange  tree  to  come  into  bearing.  He 
says  there  are  trees  which  have  been  known  to  produce 
fruit  when  they  were  more  than  one  hundred  years  old. 

The  orange  crop  is  a  very  important  one.  It  is  esti 
mated  that  more  than  six  hundred  million  oranges  are 


TO   THE   MOUTH    OF   THE    MISSISSIPPI.  135 

eaten  in  the  United  States  every  year.  Some  of  these  are 
imported  from  Sicily,  an  island  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea ; 
but  our  best  oranges  come  from  Florida,  and  from  south 
ern  California,  on  the  other  side  of  our  country. 

In  southern  Florida  there  are  fields  of  pineapples  and 
cocoanut  groves.  The  cocoanut  trees  are  a  species  of  the 
palm.  They  begin  to  bear  at  from  nine  to  twelve  years 
of  age,  and  a  good  tree  will  have  at  one  time  as  many  as 
one  hundred  and  fifty  cocoanuts  on  it.  The  pineapples 
grow  on  the  ground,  not  unlike  cabbages.  They  are  cul 
tivated,  and,  like  the  oranges,  are  much  more  delicious 
when  eaten  fresh. 

The  most  of  southern  Florida,  however,  is  very  wild. 
You  can  ride  for  hundreds  of  miles  in  boats  through  the 
swamps,  and  you  will  find  there  bears,  wildcats,  and  deer. 
If  you  take  a  swim  in  the  water  you  must  look  out  for 
alligators,  and  one  is  hardly  safe  in  some  parts  of  the 
Everglades  without  a  gun  in  his  hand. 


XVII.     THROUGH     THE     MISSISSIPPI     JETTIES 
TO    NEW    ORLEANS. 

IT  is  at  Tampa,  on  the  west  coast  of  Florida,  that  we 
get  a  ship  which  will  take  us  across  the  Gulf  of  Mex 
ico  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  River.  The  Gulf  of 
Mexico  does  not  look  very  large  on  the  map,  but  its  east 
ern  and  western  shores  are  farther  apart  in  places  than 
New  York  and  Chicago.  Our  best  route  by  water  will  be 
to  go  first  to  Mobile,  the  chief  seaport  of  Alabama,  and 
thence  by  a  short  ride  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  and 
up  to  New  Orleans. 

CARP.    X.   AM.— 9 


136  THE    SOUTH. 

We  enter  the  Mississippi  River  through  that  one  of  its 
mouths  known  as  the  South  Pass.  The  Mississippi  has  a 
number  of  mouths  through  which  it  flows  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  The  lands  in  this  part  of  our  country  have  been 
built  up  during  the  ages  by  the  mud  or  silt  carried  down 
by  the  Mississippi  from  the  uplands.  The  waters  of  the 
.Mississippi  are  loaded  with  mud.  They  color  the  clear 
waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  far  out  from  the  mouth  of 
the  river.  They  bring  enough  dirt  into  the  gulf  every 
year,  it  is  said,  to  make  an  island  a  mile  square  and  half 
as  high  as  the  Washington  Monument. 

You  would  think  so  much  mud  would  stop  up  the  river. 
So  it  would  were  the  current  not  strong  enough  to  carry 
it  out  into  the  gulf.  As  it  is,  so  much  mud  has  been 
dropped  into  the  bottom  of  the  gulf,  not  far  from  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  that  great  bars  have  been  built  up,  over 
which  large  ships  cannot  easily  pass. 

Our  ship,  however,  crosses  one  of  these  bars  by  sailing 
through  a  channel  formed  by  what  are  known  as  the  Mis 
sissippi  River  jetties.  These  jetties  are  river  walls,  which 
have  been  made  in  a  curious  way.  They  were  planned 
and  constructed  by  Captain  James  B.  Eads,  in  order  that 
ships  might  go  from  the  gulf  through  the  bars  into  the 
deep  waters  of  the  river,  and  thus  reach  New  Orleans  and 
the  other  cities  upon  its  banks.  Captain  Eads  saw  that 
the  gulf  was  much  deeper  a  little  farther  out  from  the 
bars,  and  he  believed  that  if  he  could  make  walls,  or  jetties, 
on  both  sides  of  the  channel,  so  that  the  water  would  have 
to  pass  between  them  without  spreading  out,  it  would  flow 
so  much  faster  that  it  would  carry  the  mud  with  it  far  out 
into  the  gulf.  He  thought  that  the  stream  would  at  the 
same  time  wash  out  the  mud  in  the  channel  where  it 
crossed  the  bars.  He  laid  his  plan  before  Congress,  and 


THE    MISSISSIPPI   JETTIES.  137 

was  given  the  money  to  carry  it  out.  It  was  found  to  be 
a  success.  The  river  flows  through  with  great  force,  and 
now  there  is  a  channel,  several  hundred  feet  wide  and 
thirty  feet  deep,  through  which  ships  can  go  from  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  into  the  river. 

But  how  were  the  jetties  made? 

It  must  be  very  difficult  to  build  walls  in  the  sea.  First 
many  rows  of  great  tree  trunks,  or  piles,  were  driven  into 
the  bed  of  the  gulf  on  both  sides  of  the  channel,  so  that 
there  were  wide  lines  of  piles  running  out  from  the  end  of 
the  land  through  the  water,  over  the  bars,  and  on  into  the 
gulf.  Some  of  the  piles  were  driven  thirty  feet  down  into 
the  bottom  of  the  gulf  in  order  that  they  might  be  very 
strong. 

But  the  trees  alone  would  not  have  kept  back  the  water. 
No ;  it  would  be  as  easy  to  stop  a  brook  by  holding  your 
hand  down  into  it  and  spreading  out  your  fingers  as  to 
keep  back  the  Mississippi  by  tree  trunks.  Very  solid  and 
closely  built  walls  were  needed.  These  could  not  be  made 
with  mortar  or  stone,  for  there  was  no  way  to  keep  back 
the  water  while  the  masons  were  working. 

How  do  you  think  they  did  it? 

They  made  the  river  help  build  its  own  wall.  First  they 
cut  millions  of  willow  twigs  and  limbs,  and  tied  them  to 
gether  into  great  rafts.  They  floated  these  rafts  in  among 
the  piles,  and  then  loaded  them  with  heavy  stones  and 
gravel  until  they  sank  down  to  the  bottom.  Then  they 
floated  other  rafts  just  over  these,  and  sank  them  in  the 
same  way,  until  at  last  there  were  walls  of  willow  and 
stone  on  each  side  of  the  channel,  from  the  land's  end  far 
out  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

The  walls  were  not  yet  tight;  but  they  were  soon 
made  tight  by  the  water.  The  water  from  the  Mississippi 


138 


THE    SOUTH. 


River,  as  it  flowed  through  the  willow  and  rocks,  left  enough 
mud  to  fill  the  spaces  between  them,  and  now  there  is  a 
wall  several  miles  long  on  each  side  of  the  channel.  The 
water  rushes  through  the  channel  with  such  force  that  it 
carries  its  mud  far  out  into  the  deep  waters  of  the  gulf, 
so  that  it  does  not  affect  travel  where  it  falls  to  the  bottom. 


Canal  Street,  New  Orleans. 

New  Orleans  is  mostly  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river, 
about  a  hundred  miles  from  the  gulf.  We  pass  many  ships 
as  we  sail  from  the  gulf,  and  the  vessels  increase  in  num 
ber  as  we  near  New  Orleans.  This  city  is  the  chief  sea 
port  of  the  great  Mississippi  Valley.  As  we  approach  it 
we  pass  ships  piled  high  with  cotton  bales,  steamers  loaded 
with  barrels  of  sugar,  and  ships  full  of  grain  to  be  carried 
to  Europe.  New  Orleans  is  fast  becoming  one  of  our 


NEW    ORLEANS. 


139 


great  grain  ports,  and  vast  quantities  of  grain  are  shipped 
from  here  every  year  to  the  markets  of  Europe. 

From  our  ship  we  can  see  for  miles  over  the  country. 
In  some  places  the  land  is  lower  than  the  surface  of  the 
river,  and  levees,  or  high  banks,  have  been  built  up  to 
keep  back  the  waters.  This  is  the  case  with  parts  of  New 


A  Cemetery,  New  Orleans. 

Orleans.  There  is,  indeed,  no  place  in  the  city  where  you 
can  dig  for  more  than  a  few  feet  without  striking  water, 
and  for  this  reason  New  Orleans  cannot  have  cisterns  or 
cellars.  In  many  of  the  cemeteries  the  graves  are  above 
ground,  and  we  visit  some  where  the  coffins  are  laid  away 
in  vaults,  resting  one  on  top  of  the  other,  as  though  in  a 
great  file  of  pigeonholes. 


140 


THE   SOUTH. 


We  find  New  Orleans  very  interesting.  It  is  more  like 
a  European  city  than  any  other  city  of  the  United  States. 
New  Orleans  first  belonged  to  the  French.  A  little  later 
Spain  owned  a  large  part  of  our  country  northwest  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  New  Orleans  was  then  one  of  the 
chief  Spanish  towns  in  the  New  World.  Then  this  terri 
tory  again  came  into  the  possession  of  France,  and  in 

1 803  it  was  sold  by  the 
French  to  the  United 
States.  You  may  have 
read  of  the  sale  in  your 
history  as  the  "  Louisi 
ana  purchase."  By 
this  purchase  we  got 
some  of  the  most  valu 
able  of  our  lands,  in 
cluding  the  town  of 
New  Orleans. 

This  town  has  now 
grown  to  be  a  large 
city.  It  has  several 
hundred  thousand  peo 
ple,  but  it  still  shows 
the  marks  of  the  for 
eigners  who  founded 

it.  It  has  long  streets  of  old  houses  with  tiled  roofs,  some 
what  like  the  buildings  you  see  in  pictures  of  the  cities  of 
Italy  or  southern  France.  There  are  wide  porches,  or 
galleries,  built  out  over  the  streets  from  the  second  stories 
of  the  houses,  so  that  you  can  walk  for  blocks  without 
getting  in  the  rain  or  sun,  except  at  the  crossings  of  the 
streets.  The  finest  business  parts  of  the  city  along  Canal 
Street  make  one  think  of  the  Boulevards  of  Paris. 


A  Street  Scene. 


NEW    ORLEANS.  141 

In  some  parts  of  New  Orleans  there  is  as  much  Spanish 
or  French  spoken  as  English.  Suppose  we  visit  the 
French  market.  This  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  city.  It 
is  not  far  from  Canal  Street,  and  we  can  easily  walk  to  it 
from  our  hotel.  We  find  that  many  of  the  marketmen  are 
French,  Spanish,  and  Italian,  and  those  who  are  buying 
use  what  to  us  seems  a  strange  jargon  in  making  their 
bargains.  There  are  some  Americans,  but  the  faces  of  the 
most  of  them  show  that  they  are  of  foreign  descent.  At 
some  of  the  stalls  vegetables  are  sold  by  the  lot,  and  not 
by  the  bushel,  peck,  or  quart.  They  are  arranged  in  piles 
on  tables,  and  each  marketman  fixes  the  sizes  and  prices 
of  his  own  piles.  The  buyers  look  at  the  piles  and  take 
those  which  they  think  are  the  biggest  and  best. 

But  let  us  walk  down  to  the  wharves,  and  see  how  the 
cotton  is  handled.  This  is  the  greatest  cotton-shipping 
port  of  the  world,  and  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  cotton 
is  sent  from  here  to  Europe  every  year.  The  cotton  is 
brought  in  by  boat  and  by  rail  from  the  plantations  of  the 
Mississippi  and  Gulf  states.  It  is  first  hauled  to  cotton 
compresses  and  squeezed  into  smaller  bundles,  so  that  it 
may  not  require  so  much  room  on  the  steamers  which  take 
it  to  New  England  or  to  Europe. 

As  we  get  nearer  the  wharves  we  see  large  drays  loaded 
with  cotton.  They  are  pulled  by  mules  driven  by  negroes, 
who  sit  high  up  in  the  air  on  top  of  the  bales.  Let  us 
follow  one  of  them,  and  see  how  the  pressing  is  done. 

The  wagon  goes  through  the  narrow  streets  not  far  from 
the  banks  of  the  river.  Here  there  are  many  low  build 
ings  surrounding  large  yards,  which  can  only  be  entered 
through  iron  doors.  These  are  known  as  cotton  yards. 
We  enter,  and  see  that  the  buildings  are  immense  sheds 
filled  with  cotton  bales.  The  yards  are  also  filled  with 


142 


THE    SOUTH. 


cotton,  and  the  pavements  outside  are  so  piled  up  with 
cotton  bales  that  we  find  it  hard  to  get  through. 

As  we  look,  a  dray  loaded  with  cotton  comes  in  through 
the  doors.  The  bales  are  rolled  off  and  weighed.  Then 
they  are  wheeled  on  low  trucks  to  another  part  of  the  yard, 
where  the  great  pressing  machines  are  at  work. 

As  the  bales  are  brought  in,  each  takes  up  about  as 
much  space  as  the  ordinary  kitchen  table.  It  is  as  high 
as  your  shoulder  and  about  four  feet  square.  It  has  al- 


On  the  Wharves  at  New  Orleans. 

ready  been  squeezed  by  the  machinery  of  the  plantations 
into  as  small  a  package  as  was  possible  outside  the  great 
cotton  press. 

Let  us  go  over  there,  and  see  how  the  pressing  is  done. 
The  man  who  wheels  the  bale  to  the  press  has  already 
cut  the  iron  hoops  with  which  it  is  bound,  and  as  he  does 


A   SUGAR   PLANTATION.  143 

so  the  cotton  swells  out  as  though  to  take  a  breath  of 
relief.  It  swells  more  and  more  as  it  is  thrown  into  the 
press,  not  seeming  to  realize  that  the  great  jaws  of  iron 
above  and  below  it  will  crush  it  harder  than  ever. 

Near  the  press  there  is  a  steam  engine,  and,  as  we  look, 
the  engineer  pulls  a  lever,  and  the  two  heavy  steel  jaws 
move  toward  each  other.  The  bale  of  cotton  seems  to 
groan  as  the  jaws  squeeze  it  tighter  and  tighter  until  at 
last  it  is  not  as  high  as  your  knee.  It  has  been  pressed 
from  a  thickness  of  four  feet  down  to  about  one  foot ;  and 
as  it  lies  there  thus  squeezed,  the  iron  hoops  are  again 
bound  about  it.  It  swells  out  a  little,  trying  in  vain  to 
burst  its  iron  bands  as  the  monster  machine  lets  go.  Then 
it  is  pulled  out  and  rolled  upon  another  dray,  which  is 
waiting  to  carry  it  off  to  its  dark  prison  in  the  hold  of  the 
steamer.  Such  pressing  costs  but  a  small  sum  per  bale, 
and  it  more  than  pays  for  itself  in  the  increased  number  of 
bales  that  a  ship  can  carry. 


XVIII.     A    VISIT   TO    A    SUGAR    PLANTATION. 

HAVE  you  a  sweet  tooth ? 
If  so,  you  must  be  careful  in  your  travels  with  us 
to-day.  New  Orleans  is  one  of  the  chief  sugar  markets  of 
the  United  States.  There  are  thousands  of  barrels  of 
sugar  piled  up  on  the  wharves,  and  there  are  streets  of  the 
city  in  which  so  much  sugar  is  kept  or  refined  that  we 
smell  nothing  but  sugar  and  molasses  as  we  walk  through 
them. 

We   are   now   in   the   land   of   sugar.      There   are  vast 
plantations  in  this  part  of  the  country  where  sugar  cane  is 


144 


THE    SOUTH. 


cultivated,  and  we  can  here  learn  how  some  of  our  sugar 
is  made.  We  saw  how  maple  sugar  is  produced  in  Ver 
mont  by  boiling  down  the  sap  of  the  maple  tree.  A  great 
deal  of  sugar  is  now  made  from  beets  in  the  western  part 


A  Sugar  Plantation. 

of  our  country,  and  another  large  portion  comes  from  these 
cane  plantations  on  the  rich,  moist  soil  of  the  lands  about 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  We  do  not,  however,  produce  nearly 
all  the  sugar  we  use.  We  get  much  beet  sugar  from  Ger 
many,  and  cane  sugar  by  the  shipload  is  brought  to  us 
from  the  West  Indies,  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  and  Brazil. 

There  are  scores  of  sugar  plantations  within  a  few  hours' 
ride  of  New  Orleans,  some  of  which  contain  thousands  of 
acres.  The  plantation  we  shall  visit  to-day  is  so  large  that 
a  railroad  has  been  built  upon  it  in  order  that  the  sugar 
cane  may  be  quickly  brought  from  the  fields  to  the  factory. 
There  are  so  many  people  employed  upon  the  plantation 


A    SUGAR    PLANTATION. 


that  their  houses  would  make  quite  a  large  village,  and  the 
buildings  of  its  refinery  cover  several  acres. 

We  must  take  a  railroad  train  to  visit  this  plantation. 
The  cars  from  N.ew  Orleans  carry  us  for  miles  through 
fields  of  sugar  cane.  Now  and  then  we  see  the  smoke  of 
a  huge  sugar  factory  streaming  out  against  the  blue  sky. 
We  pass  through  swamps,  the  trees  of  which  are  loaded 
down  with  Spanish  moss,  and  at  last  stop  at  the  station 
which  was  especially  made  to  accommodate  the  workmen 
of  this  sugar  estate. 

We  first  take  horses  for  a  gallop 
across  the  plantation.  There  are 
roads  through  the  fields,  and  we 
ride  for  miles  between  walls  of 
green  cane.  The  leaves  of  the 
cane  rise  above  our  heads  as  we 
sit  on  our  horses. 

Have  you  ever  seen  a  field  of 
corn  when  it  is  ready  for  cutting? 

Such  a  field  looks  much  like  a 
section  of  a  sugar  plantation  when 
the  cane  is  ripe.  The  sugar  cane, 
however,  is  much  higher  than  the 
corn,  and  its  stalk  has  several 
broad  leaves  where  the  corn's  stalk 

has  one.  Many  of  the  sugar-cane  stalks  are  fifteen  feet 
high,  and  they  are  planted  so  close  together  that  it  would 
be  almost  impossible  for  a  man  to  make  his  way  through 
them. 

But  before  we  go  on,  let  us  stop  and  learn  how  sugar 
cane  is  grown.  The  planting  is  done  either  in  the  fall  or 
in  the  spring,  but  the  process  is  not  like  corn-planting. 
The  cane  used  for  sugar  does  not  grow  from  the  seed. 


Cutting  the  Cane. 


146  THE    SOUTH. 

The  cane  stalks  when  ripe  are  cut  off,  and  laid  flat  in  fur 
rows  which  run  from  one  side  of  the  field  to  the  other.  The 
furrows  are  seven  feet  apart.  The  stalks  of  cane  are  laid 
down  so  that  they  fit  close  together,  three  being  placed 
side  by  side,  making  three  long  rows  or  pipes  of  cane  in 
each  furrow.  Next  the  soil  is  thrown  over  the  cane  with 
a  plow.  In  the  spring  sprouts  start  up  from  each  joint 
of  the  cane,  making  long  ribbons  of  green,  as  it  were, 
against  the  black  field.  These  sprouts  grow  very  rapidly. 
In  August  they  have  become  as  tall  as  a  man,  and  they 
grow  on  until  the  middle  of  October,  when  they  are  about 
twice  as  high  as  the  average  corn  stalk  and  are  ready  for 
cutting.  This  is  the  size  of  the  cane  on  the  plantation 
during  our  visit. 

We  stop  for  a  while  at  one  end  of  the  great  sugar  farm, 
where  scores  of  men  and  women  are  cutting  cane.  They 
labor  in  squads,  under  an  overseer.  As  the  cutters  stand 
in  the  fields  they  face  what  looks  like  a  solid  wall  of  green 
cane.  Each  cutter  has  a  knife,  which  flashes  in  the  sun 
light  as  he  cuts  his  way  through  the  wall. 

See  how  carefully  and  how  quickly  they  work !  They 
seem  to  know  just  how  many  strokes  to  use,  so  that  not  a 
motion  is  wasted.  The  richest  of  the  juice  is  found  near 
the  bottom  of  the  stalk,  and  for  that  reason  they  cut  the 
stalks  off  very  close  to  the  ground.  The  tops  and  leaves 
are  worth  little  for  sugar,  and  so  they  strip  each  stalk  of 
its  leaves  and  cut  off  its  top  before  they  go  on  to  the  next. 
The  stalks,  when  cut,  are  thrown  into  piles  or  windrows  to 
be  ready  for  the  carts  which  gather  them  up  for  the  cars. 

There  is  a  train  now  ready  to  move.  Let  us  jump  on 
and  go  with  it,  and  see  something  of  the  work  which  it 
takes  to  produce  a  spoonful  of  sugar. 

As  we  ride  to  the  factory  we  pass  large  canals,  and  are 


A    SUGAR    PLANTATION.  147 

told  that  this  plantation  was  at  one  time  a  swamp,  and  that 
the  sugar  lands  usually  have  to  be  drained  before  the  cane 
can  be  planted.  We  have  seen  the  work  that  it  takes  to 
grow  the  cane,  and  we  are  now  approaching  a  group  of  large 
buildings  which  are  filled  with  wonderful  machinery  for 
getting  the  juice  out  of  the  stalks  and  turning  it  into  sugar. 


Interior  of  Sugar  Mill. 

Our  car  stops  at  the  buildings.  The  cane  is  thrown  off 
upon  a  moving  belt  or  roadway,  which  carries  it  up  to  the 
top  of  the  big  sugar  mill,  and  drops  it  down  upon  two 
heavy  iron  rollers,  which  have  teeth  much  like  those  of  an 
enormous  file.  The  rollers  themselves  are  as  big  around 
as  a  hogshead  and  are  very  much  longer.  They  are  of 
steel,  and  are  so  arranged  that  a  great  weight  can  be 
added  to  them  by  machinery.  As  each  stalk  falls  between 


148  THE    SOUTH. 

the  rollers,  the  teeth  catch  hold  of  it  and  pull  it  in,  The 
enormous  weight  squeezes  the  juice  out  of  it,  and  it  passes 
off  on  a  moving  belt  at  the  end  of  the  machine,  crushed  to 
a  pith,  and  as  dry  as  a  last  year's  corn  stalk.  It  is  so  dry 
that  it  burns  easily,  and  the  moving  belt  throws  it  into  the 
top  of  the  furnace,  where  it  forms  the  fuel  to  make  the 
steam  which  is  to  squeeze  the  juice  out  of  the  stalks  yet  to 
come. 

But  what  becomes  of  the  juice?  Come  down  under  the 
rollers  and  see.  It  is  pouring  down  in  streams  from  the 
lower  part  of  the  rollers  into  a  trough  about  a  foot  wide. 
Dip  in  your  finger  and  taste  the  liquid  as  it  falls  from  the 
cane.  It  is  so  sweet  that  it  is  almost  sickening.  The  fluid 
looks  dirty,  and  it  reminds  you  of  dishwater.  Still,  out  of 
that  sweet,  dirty  water  the  pure  white  sugar  must  come. 
Every  bit  of  dirt  must,  however,  be  first  taken  out  of  it, 
for  it  must  be  as  clear  as  crystal  before  it  can  be  boiled 
down  into  sugar. 

The  water  is  first  bleached  by  putting  it  into  large  iron 
tanks  and  running  sulphur  gas  through  it.  The  gas  makes 
the  juice  bubble,  and  the  yellow  foam  which  rises  to  the 
top  is  skimmed  off.  Lime  is  now  put  into  the  tank  to 
settle  the  dirt,  and  after  several  such  processes  the  water 
becomes  almost  perfectly  clear. 

It  is  now  ready  for  boiling.  This  is  done  in  huge  cop 
per  kettles  or  vats,  which  are  heated  by  coils  of  steam  pipe. 
As  the  liquid  boils,  it  is  skimmed.  It  flows  from  one  tank 
to  another,  growing  clearer  and  clearer,  and  thicker  and 
thicker.  Taste  it  now.  It  is  the  purest  of  sirup,  and  its 
color  has  turned  a  light  yellow. 

Look  at  the  sirup  as  it  seethes  in  the  tank!  What  an 
enormous  amount  there  is  of  it!  Let  us  follow  it  along 
the  pipes  through  which  it  is  emptied  into  the  immense 


A    SUGAR    PLANTATION. 


149 


vats  on  the  floor  overhead.  There  is  enough  sirup  here  to 
give  a  whole  state  a  taffy -pulling.  There  at  the  left  is 
one  big  barrel  which  contains  forty  thousand  pounds  of 
sirup,  which  is  boiling  and  seething  in  the  process  of  being 
turned  into  sugar. 

Come  with  me  now  to  that  great  vat,  and  see  the  half- 
sugared  molasses  which  fills  it.  This  vat  is  twice  as  long 
as  your  parlor  at  home,  and  so  deep  that  if  you  fell  into  it 


Where  the  Sugar  Cane  Grows. 

you  would  be  drowned  in  the  sweet  mixture.  Take  up  a 
spoonful  of  the  stuff.  It  is  as  thick  as  mush,  and  it  is  in 
fact  a  mush  of  sugar  and  molasses. 

It  needs  now  only  the  drying  machine  to  take  out  the 
sugar;  this  separates  the  molasses  from  the  sugar;  and 
we  step  into  a  room  at  the  side,  where  the  sugar  goes  after 
it  leaves  the  machine. 

It  comes  into  the  room  from  the  top,  falling  in  an  end- 


150  THE    SOUTH. 

less  stream  of  white  sugar  down  from  the  ceiling.  There 
are  men  who  are  shoveling  it  away  as  it  falls.  They  are 
putting  it  into  the  barrels  in  which  it  is  to  be  shipped  to 
the  markets. 

The  coarser  sugars  are  not  so  carefully  cleaned,  but  much 
of  the  fine  sugar  we  have  on  our  tables  is  made  in  this  way. 

What  becomes  of  the  molasses?  Molasses,  as  the  word 
is  used  in  a  sugar  refinery,  is  the  refuse  which  is  left  in  the 
making  of  sugar.  It  contains  the  poorest  parts  of  the  juice 
after  all  the  sugar  possible  has  been  made  from  it.  Such 
molasses  is  different  from  what  the  sugar  makers  call  sirup, 
which  is  made  from  the  fine  juice  of  the  cane.  The  refuse 
molasses  is  indeed  very  cheap ;  it  is  sometimes  sold  as  low 
as  one  cent  a  gallon.  When  it  is  as  cheap  as  this  it  does 
not  pay  to  put  it  in  barrels,  for  the  barrels  would  be  worth 
more  than  the  molasses  ;  and  so  it  is  carried  to  the  markets 
in  tank  cars,  and  is  sold  largely  in  bulk. 


XIX.     UP   THE    MISSISSIPPI    RIVER   TO    ST. 
LOUIS. 

WE  leave  New  Orleans  on  a  steamer  this  morning  for 
a  tour  through  the  Mississippi  Valley.  This  valley 
contains  more  than  one  third  of  all  the  land  of  the  United 
States.  It  has  more  rich  soil  in  one  body  than  can  be 
found  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  Almost  all  of  the 
basin  of  the  Mississippi  is  good  land.  It  lies  in  the  tem 
perate  zone,  and  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  best  dwelling 
places  on  the  globe  for  civilized  man. 

The  Mississippi,  including  the  Missouri,  is  the   longest 
river  in  the  world,  and,  with  its  branches,  it  forms  one  of 


UP   THE    MISSISSIPPI.  151 

the  most  wonderful  river  systems  of  the  globe.  You  might 
cross  the  Atlantic  Ocean  from  New  York  to  Liverpool 
three  times,  and  not  sail  as  far  as  you  can  sail  upon  the 
Mississippi  system. 

As  you  see  this  system  on  the  map,  it  seems  like  a  huge 
tree,  with  its  roots  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  its  mighty 
branches  spreading  out  over  the  richest  lands  of  the  United 


A  Mississippi  Steamboat. 

States.  It  is  the  great  water  highway  of  the  central  part 
of  our  country,  and  an  almost  endless  procession  of  boats 
and  ships  is  always  moving  up  and  down  its  trunk  and 
through  its  various  branches.  We  pass  scores  of  ships  as 
we  leave  New  Orleans. 

Our  steamer  makes  us  think  of  a  floating  house  of  three 
stories.     The  lower  stories  are  filled  with  freight ;  the  top 

CARP.   N.   AM.  — 10 


152 


THE    MISSISSIPPI. 


story  is  our  sleeping  and  eating  place ;  and  the  hurricane 
deck  is  the  yard  upon  which  we  walk  and  watch  the  banks 
on  both  sides.  We  are  moved  through  the  muddy  waters 


A  Cypress  Swamp. 

by  the  great  paddle  wheels  at  the  sides  of  the  boat,  which 
its  immense  steam  engines  keep  going  day  and  night. 

How  green  and  beautiful  everything  is! 

We  sail  at  times  through  forests  of  cypress  trees,  loaded 
down  with  Spanish  moss.  The  trees  are  so  bound  together 
with  grapevines  and  dense  vegetation  that  they  form  green 
walls  on  each  side  of  the  wide,  muddy  river;  and  the  only 
living  things  we  see  are  the  birds  which  hop  from  branch 
to  branch,  and  now  and  then  a  few  people  at  the  clearings, 
where  little  farms  have  been  cut  out  of  the  trees. 


RIVER    SCENERY.  153 

Now  the  Mississippi  widens,  and  we  seem  to  be  traveling 
through  a  series  of  lakes.  We  pass  swamps  and  float  by 
fields  of  sugar  cane  and  cotton. 

Now  and  then  we  stop  at  a  little  village  on  the  banks ; 
and  farther  up  the  river,  at  the  city  of  Natchez,  we  take 
on  packages  of  goods,  bales  of  cotton,  and  hogsheads  of 
tobacco.  Rough-looking  men  and  boys,  the  most  of  whom 
are  colored,  load  and  unload  the  steamers.  They  sing  as 
they  work,  making  a  great  noise  as  they  roll  the  huge 
bales  down  the  gang  plank. 

At  Vicksburg  we  stop  for  more  cargo.  Here  there  are 
immense  elevators  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  bales  of 
cotton,  barrels  of  flour,  and  bags  of  grain  are  rolled  down 
into  the  boat.  All  kinds  of  things  are  brought  to  the 
steamer.  We  see  hundreds  of  crates  of  chickens  taken 
on  board  to  be  carried  to  market.  Each  crate  is  just 
high  enough  for  the  chickens  to  stand  up  inside  it.  They 
poke  their  heads  out  of  the  slats  on  the  top,  and  squawk 
complainingly  at  us,  as  the  men  carry  them  upon  the 
boat. 

All  the  way  to  Memphis  we  pass  steamers  going  down 
to  New  Orleans,  loaded  with  cotton.  Memphis  is  one  of 
the  most  important  cities  below  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio. 
There  are  so  many  boats  at  its  wharves  that  they  make  us 
think  of  a  seaport.  There  are  steamers  ready  to  sail  up  the 
Arkansas  and  White  rivers,  and  in  the  busy  season  you  can 
go  by  steamer  every  day  from  Memphis  to  St.  Louis. 

How  the  Mississippi  winds  in  and  out  as  it  flows  on  its 
course !  From  Cairo  to  New  Orleans  it  is  like  an  enormous 
snake,  only  more  crooked  than  any  snake  could  possibly 
be.  Mark  Twain,  who  was  once  a  Mississippi  pilot,  said  that 
if  you  should  peel  an  apple  so  that  the  whole  skin  would  be 
in  one  single  peeling,  and  should  throw  it  over  your  shoul- 


154 


THE    MISSISSIPPI. 


der,  the  way  it  would  look  as  it  fell  on  the  floor  would  be 
much  like  the  lower  part  of  the  Mississippi  River.  As  our 
steamer  winds  through  the  curves,  we  see  other  boats  sail 
ing  to  the  right  and  left  along  the  winding  current  above 
and  below  us ;  and  there  are  places  where  we  can  get  off 
upon  the  land,  and  walk  across  the  fields  a  half-mile  or  so, 
and  there  wait  for  the  steamer,  which  may  have  to  go  a 
dozen  miles  around  to  reach  the  same  point. 

All  along  the  river,  for  hundreds  of  miles  after  we  leave 
New  Orleans,  we  notice  that  banks,  or  levees,  have  been 
built  up  on  each  side  of  the  stream  to  keep  the  water  from 
running  over  the  land.  There  are  eighteen  hundred  miles 


A  Levee. 


of  such  levees,  on  one  side  of  the  river  or  the  other.  It 
has  cost  many  millions  of  dollars  to  build  them,  and  every 
year  Congress  sets  aside  a  large  sum  to  improve  the  navi 
gation  of  the  Mississippi. 


THE    LEVEES. 


55 


And  are  the  levees  strong  enough  to  protect  the  people 
from  floods? 

Yes ;  sometimes,  but  not  always.  The  Mississippi  River 
is  very  hard  to  control.  It  is  always  changing  its  course, 


Flood  Caused  by  a  Break  in  a  Levee. 

always  wearing  off  the  land  in  some  places  and  piling  it  up 
in  others.  It  seems  to  be  always  looking  for  a  place  where 
it  can  break  through  its  banks.  The  least  crack  is  soon 
enlarged  by  the  water  flowing  through  it,  and  if  it  is  not 
stopped  at  once  the  river  will  pour  out  over  the  land. 

The  moment  a  break  is  discovered  the  people  rush  to 
fill  it.  They  drive  down  stakes  into  the  water  where  the 
crack  is,  and  put  bags  of  earth  between  them.  They  take 
boats,  and  throw  all  kinds  of  stuff  into  the  break,  in  order 
to  stop  the  stream  before  it  can  make  the  hole  larger.  If 
the  break  should  become  ten  feet  wide  it  is  almost  useless 


156  THE    MISSISSIPPI. 

to  try  to  keep  back  the  waters.  They  dissolve  the  bank 
as  though  it  were  sugar ;  they  cut  off  the  dirt  like  a  knife ; 
and  when  the  break  has  reached  a  width  of  a  hundred 
feet  the  banks  drop  down  into  the  water  in  slices  half 
an  acre  in  thickness,  and  the  muddy  river  rushes  with  a 
loud  noise  over  the  country. 

At  such  times  farms  are  often  swallowed  up ;  islands  are 
made  in  the  stream,  and  thousands  of  acres  of  land  are 
covered  with  water.  The  animals,  when  they  see  the  water 
coming,  run  to  the  highest  places ;  but  there  are  not  many 
hills  in  the  lower  Mississippi  region,  and  the  cattle,  horses, 
and  sheep  often  starve  before  the  water  subsides  or  the 
people  can  come  in  boats  to  take  them  away.  The  Mis 
sissippi  floods  often  tear  down  houses,  and  you  may  some 
times  see  buildings,  with  families  on  the  roofs,  floating 
down  the  river.  The  woodpiles  on  the  banks  are  carried 
away,  and  thousands  of  cords  of  wood  float  upon  the  waters, 
while  large  trees  that  have  been  torn  up  by  the  roots  are 
rapidly  borne  along  by  the  current. 

On  our  voyage  up  the  river  we  are  stopped  again  and 
again  by  the  ships  and  barges  coming  down.  The  traffic 
is  enormous.  We  pass  long  rafts  of  lumber  from  the  Red 
River.  There  are  logs  from  the  upper  Mississippi,  and 
rafts  of  boards,  with  little  houses  built  upon  them,  in  which 
the  lumbermen  live  during  the  voyage. 

There  are  huge  barges,  or  flatboats,  loaded  with  grain, 
fastened  together  in  blocks,  and  pushed  by  steamboats  be 
hind  them.  There  are  steamships  pushing  barges  filled 
with  corn,  and  we  learn  that  millions  of  bushels  of  corn 
and  wheat  are  thus  taken  down  to  New  Orleans  every  year. 

Freight  can  be  carried  much  more  cheaply  upon  water 
than  upon  land.  The  rates  are  so  low  from  St.  Louis  to 
New  Orleans  that  as  much  grain  as  two  horses  could  haul 


RIVER   TRAFFIC.  157 

is  carried  at  the  rate  of  a  cent  for  every  five  miles,  and  it 
costs  only  a  few  cents  to  take  a  bushel  of  wheat  from  St. 
Louis  to  New  Orleans,  although  the  distance  between  the 
two  cities  is  more  than  twelve  hundred  miles.  Coal  is 
carried  upon  the  rivers  even  more  cheaply.  It  costs  so 
little  to  carry  it  that  people  in  New  Orleans  use  coal  from 
the  mines  of  Pennsylvania,  although  the  mines  there  are 
as  far  away  as  Maine  is  distant  from  Ireland. 

But  why  does  it  cost  so  little  to  carry  heavy  things  on 
the  water? 

We  can  easily  see  as  we  look  at  the  big  loads  going  by 
us,  pushed  by  small  steamers.  A  little  steamboat  on  the 
Mississippi  can  do  more  work  than  one  several  times  as 
large  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  This  is  because  the  storms 
do  not  affect  the  river  as  they  do  the  ocean.  There  are 
no  heavy  seas  to  sail  through.  The  water  is  so  quiet  that 
large  water-tight  boxes  or  barges  can  be  used  to  carry 
goods ;  and  as  there  are  no  waves  to  contend  with,  one 
little  steamer  can  push  many  of  these  barges  down  the  river. 

There  comes  a  steamer  now,  with  a  lot  of  barges  filled 
with  coal  in  front  of  it.  Notice  how  it  puffs  as  it  forces 
them  onward.  The  barges  are  fastened  together,  two 
moving  along  side  by  side.  Each  barge  is  as  long  as  a 
city  lot  and  almost  as  wide.  It  is  as  deep  as  the  ceiling 
of  a  room  is  high  from  the  floor,  and  if  you  will  imagine 
an  ordinary-sized  schoolroom  packed  full  of  coal,  you  will 
have  some  idea  of  the  amount  of  coal  it  is  carrying  down 
to  New  Orleans. 

We  are  almost  stopped  by  these  barges  as  we  approach 
the  city  of  Cairo.  They  have  come  through  the  Ohio 
River  from  the  coal  fields  of  West  Virginia,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Ohio,  the  most  of  them  having  been  loaded  at  Pitts- 
burg.  The  Ohio  River  may  indeed  be  called  the  coal 


158 


THE    MISSISSIPPI. 


chute  for  the  cities  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  A  line  of 
barges  floats  down  it,  carrying  millions  of  tons  of  coal  to 
the  cities  along  its  banks,  furnishing  the  fuel  which  makes 
the  steam  for  the  factories  of  Cincinnati,  Louisville,  and 
St.  Louis. 

Leaving  Cairo,  we  find  the  river  much  straighter  than  it 
was  farther  south.  We  sail  through  a  rich  farming  coun 
try,  and  soon  ap 
proach  the  city  of 
St.  Louis,  Mis 
souri.  St.  Louis 
is  the  most  im 
portant  of  the 
Mississippi  River 
cities.  It  is  one 
of  our  chief  com 
mercial  and  man 
ufacturing  cen 
ters,  being  the 
fourth  in  size 
among  the  cities 
of  the  United 
States. 

It  is  its  situa 
tion  that  makes 
St.  Louis  such  an 

important  place.  It  is  on  the  great  Mississippi  River, 
between  the  mouths  of  the  Missouri  and  the  Ohio,  and  only 
a  few  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  River,  so  that 
goods  can  be  easily  shipped  up  and  down  the  Mississippi 
and  through  all  the  branches  of  its  system.  This  makes  it 
the  gateway  to  the  southwestern  part  of  our  country,  and 
many  of  the  goods  that  are  shipped  to  Mexico  go  through 


Union  Depot,  St.  Louis. 


THE    CORN    BELT. 


159 


St.  Louis.  It  is  a  great  railroad  center,  and  a  vast  num 
ber  of  trains  are  always  speeding  to  and  from  it,  carrying 
all  kinds  of  freight.  During  our  stay  we  look  at  the  huge 
bridge  across  the  Mississippi,  and  then  visit  the  Union 
Depot,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  and  finest  depots  in  the 
world.  The  cars  all  back  into  it,  so  that  the  engines  are 
left  outside,  keeping  the  smoke  out  of  the  depot. 

We  find  St.  Louis  a  beautiful  city.  It  has  wide,  well- 
paved  streets  and  many  magnificent  buildings.  It  has 
more  parks  than  any  other  city  in  our  country,  and  we 
enjoy  our  rides  through  the  residence  oortion,  the  houses 
of  which  have  beautiful  yards. 


XX.  INDIAN  CORN  AND  THE  CORN  BELT. 

A 5  we  sail  on  our  way  up  the  Mississippi  north  from 
St.  Louis,  we  pass  through  vast  tracts  of  corn.  For 
hundreds  of  miles 
the  banks  on  both 
sides  of  us  are  lined 
with  cornfields,  and 
we  might  travel  on 
the  railroad  for 
hours  on  fast  ex 
press  trains,  east 
and  west,  without 
coming  to  the  end 
of  the  fields.  We 


The  Corn  Region. 


are  now  in  the  heart  of  the  great  corn  patch  of  the  United 
States,  and  we  decide  to  stop  off  and  spend  some  time  sur 
rounded  by  this  wonderful  crop. 


i6o 


THE    MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY. 


In  our  railroad  rides  we  find  that  the  corn  grows  so  well 
here  that  in  some  places  it  reaches  above  the  car  windows, 
and  we  are  whirled  along  between  walls  of  green  stalks,  the 
wide  leaves  of  which  rustle  in  the  wind  made  by  the  train 
as  it  carries  you  through  them.  Now  the  railroad  track 
runs  along  upon  an  embankment.  We  are  above  the  fields, 
and  we  look  over  a  sea  of  green  leaves,  spotted  with  the 

golden  tassels  which 
form  the  ends  of  the 
stalks.  Some  of  the 
leaves  have  turned  to 
gold,  the  green  stalks 
are  streaked  with  yel 
low,  and  the  fat  ears  have 
husks  of  a  lemon  hue. 

The  corn  crop  is  now 
ready  for  harvest.  The 
stalks  are  being  cut  and 
shocked,  and  later  on  the 
ears  will  be  torn  from 
their  husks  and  carried 
to  the  markets. 

Pull  off  one  of  those 
ears  of  corn  and  look  at 
it.  You  have  before  you 

one  of  the  most  wonderful  of  grains.  It  is  a  grain  which 
more  than  any  other  belongs  to  our  continent,  for  it  was 
not  known  in  Europe  before  America  was  discovered. 

Take  one  of  the  kernels  and  bite  it  open.  How  hard  it 
is,  and  how  white  its  inside  looks!  If  you  should  put  it 
under  the  microscope,  you  would  find  that  its  flesh  is  com 
posed  of  hundreds  of  little  boxes,  containing  scores  of 
cells,  so  that  there  are  thousands  of  cells  in  a  single  grain. 


Husking  Corn. 


THE    CORN    CROP.  l6l 

Each  of  the  cells  contains  starch  and  other  matter  good  to 
eat,  and  corn  is  one  of  the  best  of  foods  for  both  man  and 
beast. 

Do  you  realize  how  much  our  corn  crop  is  worth  to  us  ? 
It  is  by  far  the  most  valuable  thing  we  raise.  We  get 
more  from  our  cornfields  every  year  than  we  do  from  all 
our  gold,  silver,  and  lead  mines.  Our  corn  is  often  worth 
more  than  twice  as  much  as  our  wheat  crop.  We  produce 
so  much  of  it  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  realize  how 
great  the  amount  is.  We  raise  two  or  three  billion  bushels 
of  shelled  corn  every  year.  The  figures  are  too  big  for 
us  to  understand  them,  and  we  shall  consider  first  only 
the  corn  grown  in  the  region  where  we  are  traveling. 
Corn  is  raised  in  nearly  every  part  of  the  United  States, 
but  more  than  half  of  our  crop  comes  from  the  seven  great 
states  of  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Ohio,  to  the  right  of  us,  and 
Missouri,  Kansas,  Iowa,  and  Nebraska,  on  our  left,  as  we 
go  up  the  river.  This  is  the  greatest  corn  patch  on  the 
globe.  It  produces  more  than  one  billion  bushels  of  corn 
every  year,  which  sometimes  is  one  half  of  our  crop. 

Now  let  us  think  for  a  moment  how  much  corn  one  bil 
lion  bushels  is.  Suppose  we  load  it  upon  wagons.  Forty 
bushels  of  shelled  corn  forms  a  good  load  for  two  horses. 
Let  each  wagon  hold  that  amount,  and  let  the  teams  start  at 
the  Mississippi  River  and  go  eastward.  We  shall  drive  the 
teams  so  that  the  nose  of  each  horse  will  just  reach  the 
tailboard  of  the  wagon  in  front  of  it,  making  a  con 
tinuous  train  of  wagons,  each  loaded  with  forty  bushels  of 
corn.  Now  where  would  the  first  wagon  be  when  the  last 
bushel  was  loaded  ?  At  Pittsburg,  on  the  edge  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains? 

No ;  it  would  be  much  farther  eastward. 

At  the  Atlantic  Ocean? 


1 62 


THE    MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY. 


No ;  still  farther  eastward.  Suppose  that  the  wagons 
could  be  driven  across  the  oceans,  and  guess  again. 

It  might  perhaps  reach  almost  to  Paris,  do  I  hear  some 
one  say? 


"We  should  have  to  make  six  such  lines  around  the  world." 

Yes ;  it  would  reach,  on  and  on,  much  farther  than  that. 
The  line  of  wagons  would  extend  from  the  Mississippi  over 
our  own  country  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  across  the  At 
lantic  to  Europe,  across  Europe  and  over  the  highlands  of 
Asia,  and  then  across  the  wide  Pacific  Ocean.  It  would 
not  stop  there,  but  would  climb  over  the  plateaus  and 


THE   CORN    CROP.  163 

peaks  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  come  back  to  you  at 
the  Mississippi  River,  making  a  solid  belt  of  corn  wagons 
clear  round  the  world. 

But  stop !  we  have  not  yet  loaded  all  of  the  corn  crop 
of  these  seven  states.  The  pile  seems  almost  as  big  as 
when  we  began.  There  are  five  times  as  much  corn  left  as 
that  we  have  put  on  the  wagons,  and  we  should  have  to 
make  six  such  lines  around  the  world  before  we  could  load 
a  single  year's  crop  of  this  great  corn  patch.  It  would 
take  so  many  wagons,  indeed,  that  if  they  were  stretched 
out  in  one  single  file,  the  first  wagon  would  be  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  miles  away  before  the  last 
wagon  was  loaded.  And  yet  these  seven  states  contain 
only  about  one  half  of  the  corn  we  produce,  and  you  must 
multiply  the  number  of  wagons  by  two  or  more  if  you 
wish  to  know  how  many  would  be  needed  to  carry  one 
year's  corn  crop  of  the  whole  United  States. 

But  what  becomes  of  all  this  corn  ? 

The  most  of  it  is  used  in  this  country.  Not  one  bushel 
in  twenty  is  shipped  off  to  Europe.  We  can  find  where 
much  of  it  goes  by  visiting  the  barnyards  of  the  United 
States.  We  see  the  farmers  throwing  it  out  to  the  stock. 
We  have  so  many  cattle  and  hogs  in  our  country  that  if 
we  could  drive  them  in  single  file  they  would  form  two 
lines  long  enough  to  guard  our  wagon  train  of  corn  as  it  is 
stretched  round  the  globe.  In  such  a  march  the  noisiest 
animals  would  be  the  hogs.  There  would  be  more  than 
fifty  millions  of  them,  grunting  and  squealing  as  they  fol 
lowed  the  wagons.  Corn  is  the  chief  food  of  hogs.  By 
feeding  it  to  them  the  farmer  turns  his  corn  into  pork,  thus 
making  the  hogs  manufacture  the  corn  into  an  article  that 
can  be  easily  sold. 

The  people  of  Europe  will  not  buy  much  corn,  but  they 


1 64 


THE    MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY. 


are  glad  to  get  our  meat ;  and  so,  through  this  corn  belt 
where  we  are  traveling,  we  shall  find  vast  establishments 
devoted  to  the  killing  of  hogs  and  preparing  their  meat  for 
sale.  These  are  known  as  packing  houses.  We  may  visit 
them  at  Omaha,  Kansas  City,  and  St.  Louis.  Here  hun 
dreds  of  thousands  of  hogs  are  killed  every  year,  and  from 
here  their  meat  is  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 


XXI.     A    VISIT   TO    A    GREAT   WHEAT   FARM. 

NORTH  and  west  of  the  upper  Mississippi  is  a  region 
which  might  be  called  the  "  Bread   Basket  of  North 
America."      Here,  in  both  Canada  and  the  United  States, 
are  some  of  the  best  wheat  lands  of  the  world. 

Wheat  is  one  of  the  most  important  grains  known  to 
man.  It  has  been  used  for  ages  by  the  peoples  of  the  Old 
World.  Egypt  in  the  time  of  the  Pharaohs  was  a  great 

wheat  land,  and  there 
are  pictures  on  the  walls 
of  some  of  the  Egyp 
tian  tombs  showing 
how  wheat  was  raised 
there  in  those  ancient 
days.  Wheat  is  now 
grown  in  many  parts  of 
the  world.  Great  quan 
tities  of  it  are  produced 
in  India,  France,  and  Russia,  and  there  are  vast  wheat 
lands  in  Australia  and  in  the  valley  of  La  Plata  River  in 
South  America. 

Although    wheat   was   not   known    in   this   hemisphere 


The  Wheat  Region. 


A    WHEAT    FARM. 


I65 


before  Columbus  came,  our  continent  now  produces  more 
wheat  than  any  of  the  other  grand  divisions  of  the  globe. 
The  United  States  grows  more  wheat  than  any  other  coun 
try.  The  people  of  Europe,  to  a  large  extent,  eat  flour 
made  from  our  wheat.  We  send  millions  of  bushels  of 
this  grain  every  year  across  the  Atlantic,  and,  with  the 
single  exception  of  cotton,  we  get  more  for  our  wheat 
from  foreign  countries  than  for  any  other  crop. 

Wheat  is  grown  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  United  States, 
but  our  best  wheat  lands  are  those  which  lie  north  of 
the  Ohio  and  Missouri  rivers.  In  Minnesota  and  in  the 
Dakotas  there  is  a  region  known  as  the  Red  River  Valley. 
The  wheat  farms  there  are  of  vast  extent,  and  they  are 
managed  on  a  grand  scale.  Each  big  farm  has  its  own 
bookkeeper  and  its  overseers.  It  employs  hundreds  of 
men,  and  it  purchases  its  machinery  and  supplies  by  the 
carload,  at  wholesale  rates.  On  one  wheat  farm  in  North 
Dakota  there  are 
two  hundred  and 
fifty  pairs  of 
work  horses  and 
mules,  two  hun 
dred  plows,  a 
hundred  and  fif 
teen  harvesting 
machines,  and 
twenty  thrash 
ing  machines 
run  by  steam. 
When  the  grain  is  ripe,  four  hundred  men  are  employed 
to  harvest  it,  and  at  the  time  of  thrashing  there  are  six 
hundred  at  work. 

But  suppose  we  visit  a  big  Dakota  wheat  farm.     The 


A  Sulky  Plow. 


1 66 


THE    NORTHWEST. 


farm  comprises  thousands  of  acres,  and  in  going  over  it  we 
ride  all  day  on  horseback.  Some  of  the  fields  contain 
as  much  as  five  hundred  acres  each.  The  men  working 
in  them  labor  in  companies,  under  mounted  overseers,  who 
gallop  from  one  company  to  another  to  see  that  everything 
is  properly  done.  In  plowing  the  ground,  sometimes  a 
score  of  sulky  plows,  driven  by  men  who  sit  on  the  plows, 
will  move  across  the  field  together.  They  will  plow  several 
acres  of  ground  at  a  single  trip,  and  thus  riding  over  the 
prairie  turn  under  the  tough  sod. 

The  ground  is  harrowed  in  much  the  same  way,  and  the 
wheat  is  drilled  in  by  seeders,  or  grain  drills.  These  drills 

are  long  boxes  mounted 
upon  wheels.  Each  box 
is  filled  with  wheat.  From 
its  bottom  running  down 
to  the  ground  are  slender 
tubes  about  as  big  around 
as  the  end  of  a  broom 
stick.  Down  these  tubes 
the  grains  of  wheat  run 
just  fast  enough  to  thor 
oughly  seed  the  ground. 

Behind  each  tube  there  is  a  little  plow,  which  covers  up  the 
grain.  Each  drill  is  drawn  by  two,  three,  or  four  horses, 
and  a  long  line  of  them  will  plant  a  vast  tract  of  wheat  in 
a  very  short  time. 

But  let  us  suppose  that  our  visit  to  this  region  is  made 
when  the  wheat  is  ready  for  harvest.  This  time  is  later 
than  harvest  time  in  the  warmer  wheat  lands  farther  south. 
Harvesting  on  these  big  farms  is  a  wonderful  sight.  The 
wheat  is  cut  by  long  lines  of  reaping  machines,  or  harvest 
ers,  pulled  by  horses  or  mules.  The  din  of  the  machinery 


A  Grain  Drill. 


WHEAT    HARVEST.  1 67 

makes  us  think  of  a  boiler  factory.  We  can  hardly  hear 
the  voices  of  the  drivers  as  they  yell  at  their  teams. 

As  we  draw  nearer,  we  see  that  the  most  of  the  noise 
comes  from  the  knives  which  are  moving  very  rapidly  back 
and  forth  a  few  inches  above  the  ground,  and  cutting  the 
stalks  of  grain  so  that  they  fall  back  upon  the  machine. 
There  is  a  great  reel  which  pushes  the  stalks  and  makes 
them  fall  with  their  heads  all  the  same  way.  The  reaper 
is  so  made  that  these  stalks  are  rolled  together  in  a  bundle, 
and,  when  the  bundle  is  just  large  enough,  binds  a  band 
of  wire  or  string  about  it,  and  throws  it  off  the  machine  in 
sheaves.  Behind  the  machines  men  walk,  and  pick  up  the 
bundles  and  stand  them  on  end  in  shocks,  that  the  wheat 
may  become  thoroughly  dry  before  it  is  thrashed. 

Thrashing  on  one  of  these  farms  is  far  different  from 
thrashing  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  In  some  of  the 
wheatfields  of  Europe  the  grains  are  still  pounded  out  of 
the  straw  with  a  club.  In  China  I  have  seen  boys  riding 
oxen  over  the  straw,  as  it  lay  on  the  hard  ground  of  the 
thrashing  floor,  in  order  that  the  feet  of  the  animals  might 
tread  out  the  grain.  In  the  Red  River  Valley  the  most  of 
the  work  is  done  by  steam  engines  which  move  the  wheels 
of  the  thrashing  machines.  Each  thrasher  will  hull  out 
more  than  one  thousand  bushels  of  wheat  in  a  day,  thus 
doing  the  work  of  hundreds  of  oxen  or  thousands  of 
clubs  or  flails.  Our  thrashers  separate  the  grain  from  the 
chaff  and  straw,  and  the  clean  wheat  flows  out  through  a 
wooden  pipe  at  the  side  so  fast  that  it  keeps  two  men  busy 
holding  bags  in  order  that  all  the  grain  may  be  caught. 
On  some  very  large  farms  the  work  of  cutting  and  thrash 
ing  is  done  at  the  same  time  by  a  combined  harvester  and 
thrasher.  Some  of  these  great  machines  are  drawn  by 
steam  engines;  others  by  teams  of  from  twenty-five  to 

CARP.  N.  AM. — II 


168 


THE    NORTHWEST. 


Combined  Harvester  and  Thrasher. 


thirty  horses  and  mules.  A  single  machine  with  four  men 
will  gather  and  thrash  from  seventeen  hundred  to  three 
thousand  bushels  of  wheat  in  a  day. 

But  how  is  the  wheat  cared  for  after  it  leaves  the  fields  ? 

This  is  almost  as  great  a  business  as  raising  the  wheat. 
At  some  of  the  railroad  stations  in  the  wheat  regions,  and 
at  all  the  large  grain  ports  of  the  United  States,  there  are 
huge  elevators,  or  granaries,  used  for  storing  grain  until  it 
is  wanted  for  sale. 

There  are  such  granaries  at  New  York  and  New  Orleans, 
and  at  all  the  large  cities  upon  the  Great  Lakes.  We 
find  many  of  them  at  Minneapolis,  and  learn  that  single 
elevators  often  have  storage  room  for  more  than  a  million 
bushels  of  grain.  The  elevators  at  Minneapolis  alone  can 
hold  almost  thirty  million  bushels  at  one  time,  and  many 


GRAIN    ELEVATORS. 


169 


million  bushels  of  wheat  come  into  the  Minneapolis  mar 
kets  in  a  single  year. 

Elevators  are  usually  built  by  the  sides  of  the  railroad 
tracks,  and  the  wheat  is  taken  from  the  cars  directly  into 
them.  Each  elevator  contains  great  bins,  some  of  which 
are  as  high  as  a  six-story  house.  Some  of  the  bins  will 


Elevators  —  Chicago. 

hold  thousands  of  bushels  of  wheat.  The  grain  is  moved 
to  the  upper  parts  of  the  elevator  in  little  buckets  of  tin  or 
zinc,  fastened  to  a  belt,  like  those  which  raise  the  flour  in 
a  mill.  At  the  top  of  the  elevator  the  wheat  is  weighed ; 
then  it  is  poured  into  the  deep  bins.  When  it  is  taken 
out  it  flows  through  pipes  into  the  cars  or  the  ships  which 
are  to  carry  it  to  the  markets. 


THE    NORTHWEST. 


There  are  elevators  of  this  kind  at  the  ports  at  the  head 
of  Lake  Superior,  into  which  the  grain  is  taken  from  the 
cars,  and  later  on  poured  into  the  steamers  which  are  to 
take  it  down  the  Great  Lakes  to  Buffalo,  wrhence  it  is  car 
ried  through  the  Erie  Canal  to  New  York,  to  be  shipped 
to  Europe.  Some  grain  is  loaded  on  boats  and  barges  and 
shipped  down  the  Mississippi  River;  but  the  greater  part 
goes  by  the  lakes,  as  this  route  is  the  shortest  way  to  the 
markets  of  the  East. 

We  find  Minneapolis  a  magnificent  city  of  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  million  inhabitants.  It  is  situated  on  the  Mis- 


Falls  of  St.  Anthony. 


sissippi,  at  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony.      These  falls  furnish 
a  water  power  as  great  as  could  be  given  by  forty  thou- 


THE    "TWIN    CITIES."  I  71 

sand  horses  all  pulling  at  once,  and  their  situation  so  near 
our  wheat  lands  has  made  Minneapolis  one  of  the  chief 
milling  centers  of  the  world.  There  are  numbers  of  big 
flour  mills  here  which  are  grinding  away  day  and  night. 
They  grind  millions  of  barrels  of  flour  every  year,  one  single 
mill  grinding  as  much  as  twenty  thousand  barrels  of  flour 
in  a  day. 

The  mighty  Mississippi  does  other  work  here  in  addition 
to  grinding  wheat.  Its  water  power  runs  all  kinds  of  fac 
tories.  Great  woolen  mills  are  operated  by  it.  It  saws 
vast  quantities  of  lumber,  and  moves  the  other  machinery 
which  makes  Minneapolis  the  manufacturing  center  of  this 
part  of  our  country. 

Very  close  to  Minneapolis  is  the  big  city  of  St.  Paul, 
which  is  also  a  thriving  commercial  and  manufacturing 
center.  The  two  towns  are  called  the  "Twin  Cities  of  the 
Northwest/'  They  contain  some  of  the  finest  business 
blocks  in  our  country,  and  in  both  of  them  we  may  ride 
for  miles  through  well-paved  avenues,  lined  with  beautiful 
houses.  The  two  cities  now  almost  join,  although  their 
business  centers  are  about  ten  miles  apart.  We  can  ride 
from  one  to  the  other  in  a  few  minutes  on  electric  or 
steam  railroads,  and  the  day  will  soon  come  when  there 
will  be  at  this  point  one  vast  city. 

The  growth  of  these  two  cities  is  due  to  their  situation 
at  the  head  of  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  River,  at  the 
Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  and  to  their  nearness  to  the  head  of 
navigation  on  the  Great  Lakes.  Goods  can  thus  be  sent 
from  them  by  water  down  the  Mississippi,  and  also,  after 
a  short  ride  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  on  the  railroad, 
down  the  Great  Lakes,  whence  they  may  be  carried  to  every 
part  of  our  country,  and  to  the  seaports  where  they  may 
be  shipped  to  Europe. 


172  THE    GREAT    LAKES. 


XXII.     A    JOURNEY    ON    THE    GREAT    LAKES. 

A  SHORT  railroad  ride  from  St.  Paul  brings  us  to  Du- 
luth,  at  the  head  of  Lake  Superior.  Duluth  is  built 
upon  the  sides  of  steep  and  rocky  hills  about  a  little  harbor. 
Bowlders  of  granite  jut  out  of  the  ground  in  even-  city 
lot,  and  the  houses  are  founded  upon  the  rocks.  The 
streets  rise  from  the  wharves  in  terraces  running  backward, 
so  that  the  lines  of  houses  make  us  think  of  the  seats  of  the 
grand  stand  in  a  baseball  ground.  Not  far  away,  to  the 
right  as  we  face  the  lake,  we  can  see  the  immense  eleva 
tors  of  Superior  city ;  and  as  we  look  at  the  many  vessels 
in  the  harbor,  we  realize  that  we  are  at  the  head  of  navi 
gation  of  the  Great  Lakes. 

Look  at  that  steamboat.lying  under  the  shadow  of  a  huge 
wheat  elevator  at  the  wharves  of  Duluth !  We  have  never 
seen  a  boat  like  that  before.  It  is  more  like  an  enormous 
barrel  than  a  steamship,  and  as  it  lies  there  in  the  water  it 
makes  us  think  of  some  sea  monster  or  giant  whale. 
Still,  the  steam  is  puffing  out  of  the  pipes  at  its  prow,  and 
volumes  of  black  smoke  are  flowing  out  of  its  huge  smoke 
stacks.  That  is  one  of  the  famous  whaleback  steamships 
which  carry  iron  ore  and  grain  from  Duluth  down  the 
Great  Lakes.  It  is  now  being  filled  with  wheat.  We  can 
see  the  grain  pouring  into  its  hold  from  the  pipes  which  run 
down  into  it  from  the  elevator.  Thousands  of  bushels  of 
grain  will  be  thus  stored  away  within  a  few  hours,  and  the 
load  it  will  carry  will  be  more  than  could  be  hauled  by  a 
train  of  two-horse  wagons  ten  miles  in  length. 

At  the  same  wharf  there  are  other  ships  which  will  carry 
thousands  of  bushels  of  wheat  at  a  load  ;  and  moving  about 
in  the  harbor  are  immense  grain  barges,  which  are  pulled 


DULUTH    AND    SUPERIOR. 


173 


by  smaller  steamers,  one  little  steamboat  dragging  a  long 
line  of  bigger  boats  behind  it. 

The  chain  of  Great  Lakes  forms  one  of  the  chief  com 
mercial  highways  of  the  globe.  The  upper  portions  of 
these  lakes  are  frozen  during  the  winter,  and  for  five 
months  they  are  almost  as  deserted  as  the  icy  seas  about 
the  north  pole.  It  is  only  during  the  seven  warmer  months 


A  Whaleback. 


that  ships  can  navigate  them ;  but  in  this  time  more 
freight  is  carried  upon  them  than  all  that  is  brought  into 
Liverpool  or  London  in  a  whole  year. 

During  the  summer  months,  day  and  night,  there  moves 
over  this  great  waterway  an  almost  endless  fleet  of  steel 
steamships,  white- winged  sailboats,  massive  barges,  mon 
ster  whalebacks,  and  magnificent  passenger  steamers,  car 
rying  thousands  of  people  and  millions  of  tons  of  freight 


174 


THE    GREAT    LAKES. 


to  and  fro.  There  are  ships  which  carry  nothing  but  iron 
ore  from  the  mines  about  Lake  Superior,  down  to  Cleve 
land,  Chicago,  and  other  ports.  There  are  ships  loaded 
with  copper  from  the  mines  of  the  Michigan  peninsula,  and 
vast  rafts  of  lumber  from  the  pine  forests  of  the  upper 
lakes. 

Were  it  not  for  these  lakes  our  immense  harvests  of  grain 
could  hardly  be  taken  to  the  seaboard.  That  whaleback 
will  steam  out  with  its  great  load  of  seventy  thousand 


Ore  Docks  at  Duluth. 


bushels  of  wheat  to  Buffalo,  or  it  may  even  pass  through 
the  Welland  Canal  and  go  on  down  through  Lake  Ontario 
into  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  and  out  across  the  Atlantic  to 
the  seaports  of  Europe.  There  is  a  navigable  waterway 


THE    BASIN    OF   THE    LAKES.  175 

from  Duluth  to  the  sea,  and  if  the  destination  of  our  whale- 
back  is  Liverpool,  it  will  have  to  travel  more  than  half  of 
its  voyage  in  fresh  water  before  it  gets  to  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  at  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle. 

The  journey  can  be  made  so  cheaply  that  for  a  very  few 
cents  a  bushel  of  wheat  can  be  taken  to  Buffalo,  and  for 
thirty  cents  or  less  a  ton  of  coal  can  be  brought  in  the 
same  ship  back  to  Duluth.  The  cost  of  carrying  goods  by 
water  in  this  way  is  less  than  half  the  cost  of  carrying  them 
on  the  railroads.  It  is  this  cheapness  that  has  caused  many 
towns  and  cities  to  spring  up  at  the  good  harbors  along  the 
Great  Lakes,  and  at  the  channels  between  them,  and  it  is 
to  these  cheap  freights  that  many  other  cities  owe  much 
of  their  wealth. 

But  before  we  go  farther,  I  must  tell  you  a  curious  thing 
about  this  valley  or  basin  in  which  these  vast  fresh-water 
seas  lie.  It  is  situated  almost  o'n  the  Height  of  Land,  on 
the  crown  of  the  eastern  part  of  North  America,  so  that 
over  the  rim  of  the  basin  the  ground  on  the  north  slopes 
toward  Hudson  Bay,  and  on  the  south  toward  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico.  The  rim  of  the  basin  of  the  Great  Lakes  is 
not  very  high,  and  canals  have  been  cut  from  Lake  Erie 
south  to  the  Ohio  River,  so  that  freight  from  the  Great 
Lakes  in  this  way  goes  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  A  canal 
is  also  being  opened  from  the  lower  end  of  Lake  Michigan 
to  the  Mississippi  River,  and  the  Erie  Canal  takes  vast 
quantities  of  freight  from  Lake  Erie  at  Buffalo  across  New 
York  to  the  Hudson  River,  whence  it  goes  by  water  to 
New  York  city.  It  is  also  said  that  men  can  sail  in  canoes 
up  the  streams  flowing  south  into  Lake  Superior,  and,  by 
carrying  their  boats  a  very  short  distance,  can  drop  them 
into  streams  which  flow  into  Hudson  Bay. 

Another   curious   thing-  about   the  basin   of  the   Great 


I  76  THE    GREAT    LAKES. 

Lakes  is  its  shape.  It  is  formed  of  three  great  terraces, 
lying  one  above  the  other.  The  top  terrace  is  Lake  Su 
perior,  the  level  of  which  is  six  hundred  feet  above  the  sea. 
From  Lake  Superior  to  the  second  terrace  there  is  a  drop 
of  about  twenty  feet,  and  there  we  find  the  level  of  Lakes 


Diagram  Showing  the  Lake  Terraces. 

Huron,  Michigan,  and  Erie.  The  third  drop,  to  the  level 
of  Lake  Ontario,  is  much  greater,  and  the  ground  slopes 
down  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  sea. 

But  how  do  the  great  ships  get  from  one  of  these  ter 
races  to  the  other? 

They  cannot  go  from  Lake  Ontario  up  the  swift  Niagara 
River,  and  climb  over  the  falls;  nor  can  they  possibly 
make  their  way  up  the  raging,  rocky  rapids  of  the  St. 
Marys  River,  over  which  the  waters  of  Lake  Superior 
foam  as  they  rush  on  toward  Lake  Huron.  No ;  this 
is  plainly  impossible.  The  ships  must  be  lifted  from  one 
level  to  another  through  ship  canals.  Such  canals  have 
been  built  between  Lake  Ontario  and  Lake  Erie,  and 
around  the  Falls  of  the  St.. Marys,  below  Lake  Superior; 
and  in  these,  by  means  of  locks,  the  heavy  boats  are  like 
wise  lowered  from  one  terrace  to  the  other.  By  many  other 
locks  they  are  lowered,  step  by  step,  through  other  canals, 
past  the  rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  until  at  last,  having 
dropped  from  a  height  greater  than  that  of  the  Washing- 


ST.    MARYS    FALLS    CANAL. 


177 


ton  Monument,  they  float  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  It  is  by 
means  of  the  same  locks  that  they  climb  back  again,  ves 
sels  weighing  thousands  of  tons  being  lifted  up  and  down. 

Let  us  sail  from  Lake  Superior  down  into  Lake  Huron, 
and  see  how  this  is  done.  Our  ship  is  a  steel  steamer  of 
three  thousand  tons.  It  is  floating  on  Lake  Superior,  and 
must  be  let  down  to  the  level  of  Lake  Huron,  which  is 
twenty  feet  lower. 

This  will  be  done  while  passing  through  the  St.  Marys 
Falls  Canal.  It  is  commonly  known  as  the  "  Soo  "  Canal, 


Lock  — St.  Marys  Falls  Canal. 

and  is  one  of  the  greatest  works  of  its  kirrd  in  the  world. 
It  is  about  ten  miles  long,  and  forms  a  waterway  around 
the  rapids  of  the  St.  Marys  River.  Every  seven  months 
more  than  ten  thousand  vessels  pass  through  it,  and  all  of 
these  ships  have  to  be  raised  or  lowered  over  this  step 
twenty  feet  high  between  the  two  lakes. 

We  steam  for  some  distance  through  the  canal,  until  at 
last  we  pass,  with  another  big  steamer,  between  two  stone 


I  78  THE    GREAT    LAKES. 

walls  as  high  as  a  three-story  house.  They  do  not  seem 
so  high  to  us,  for  our  ship  floats  between  them  on  the  top 
of  the  water,  which  is  now  at  the  level  of  Lake  Superior. 
We  are  in  the  famous  lock  of  the  "  Soo "  Canal,  the 
largest  lock  in  the  world.  The  upper  deck  of  the  steamer 
is  far  above  the  walls,  and  from  it  we  can  see,  not  far  away 
to  the  left,  the  raging  St.  Marys  River,  which  roars  and 
froths  as  it  tumbles  down  the  rapids. 

The  water  in  the  lock  is  as  calm  as  a  mill  pond.  It  is 
held  back  by  two  large,  water-tight  gates  of  wood  and  iron. 
As  our  ship  comes  to  rest,  we  step  off  upon  the  walls  of 
the  lock,  and  walk  to  the  gates,  over  which  we  can  look 
down  into  the  canal,  where  it  opens  into  the  smooth  ex 
panse  of  the  river  below  the  rapids.  The  water  there  is 
twenty  feet  lower  than  that  in  the  lock.  If  the  gates  were 
opened,  the  two  ships  would  be  hurled  down  by  the  great 
rush  of  the  waters.  By  means  of  the  lock  they  are  to  be 
lowered  so  gently  that,  did  we  shut  our  eyes,  we  could 
hardly  tell  we  were  sinking. 

How  is  this  done? 

Tlhe  water  itself,  aided  by  a  steam  engine,  performs  the 
work.  At  the  entrance  of  the  lock  there  are  two  gates 
like  those  before  us.  These  are  closed  by  the  engine, 
keeping  the  waters  of  Lake  Superior  back  for  the  time. 
The  ships  are  now  in  a  great  box  of  water.  The  engineer 
moves  another  lever,  and  holes  in  the  bottom  of  the  box 
are  opened.  The  water  gradually  flows  out,  and  the  great 
ships  sink  down  with  it  until  they  are  on  the  level  of  the 
canal  below.  Then  the  front  gates  are  opened,  and  we 
can  steam  on  our  way  as  easily  as  though  there  had  been 
no  steep  step  to  climb  down.  The  waters  of  St.  Marys 
River  for  the  remaining  fifty  miles  of  its  course  are  on  the 
same  level  as  those  of  Lake  Huron. 


THE    IRON    REGIONS. 


179 


There  are  two  canals  around  the  St.  Marys  Falls,  one  of 
which  is  on  the  Canadian  side  of  the  river.  There  are 
twenty-six  locks  in  the  Welland  Ship  Canal  about  Nia 
gara  Falls,  for  the  step  down  from  Lake  Erie  to  Lake 
Ontario  is  more  than  fifteen  times  as  high  as  that  be 
tween  Lake  Huron  and  Lake  Superior.  So  the  ships  are 
lifted  up  or  down  only  a  little  at  a  time  until  they  have 
passed  through  the  canal,  which  is  twenty-six  miles  long. 
There  are  other  locks  on  the  canals  lower  down  about  the 
rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  there  are  many  smaller  locks 
in  the  Erie  Canal  between  Buffalo  and  the  Hudson  River. 


XXIII.     THE     IRON    AND     COPPER    MINES    OF 
LAKE    SUPERIOR. 

BEFORE  leaving  Lake  Superior,  we  must  visit  the  iron 
and  copper  regions  which  are  found  not  far  from  its 
shores.  The  wealth  of  the  United  States  is  not  in  its  good 
soil  alone.  A  vast  part  of  our  riches  comes  from  our  min 
erals.  We  now  produce 
more  iron  and  copper 
than  any  other  country, 
and  in  1890  more  than 
one  fourth  of  the  iron 
manufactured  in  the 
whole  world  came  from 
the  mines  of  the  United 
States.  For  many  years 
Great  Britain  has  been 


The  Iron  Regions. 


the  chief  iron-making  nation  of  the  earth ;   but  now  the 
United   States  is  ahead.      It  is  our  iron  and  coal  which 


180  THE    GREAT    LAKES. 

make  us  the  chief  manufacturing  nation  of  the  world ;  and 
our  supplies  of  these  materials  are  so  vast  that  the  United 
States  will  grow  greater  and  greater  as  they  are  developed. 

No  other  continent  has  such  extensive  beds  of  iron 
ore  as  North  America.  There  is  some  iron  in  the  West 
Indies,  in  Central  America,  and  in  Mexico,  and  a  little  in 
Canada.  In  the  United  States  iron  is  found  almost  every 
where.  It  is  mined  in  twenty-six  different  states  and  terri 
tories.  There  are  vast  iron  beds  in  Tennessee,  Alabama, 
and  northwestern  Georgia;  there  are  also  valuable  iron 
mines  in  Pennsylvania ;  but  our  richest  iron  beds  are  about 
Lake  Superior.  It  is  from  the  Lake  Superior  mines  that 
more  than  half  the  iron  ore  produced  in  the  United  States 
comes.  Many  of  our  large  manufacturing  cities  rely  upon 
this  region  for  all  the  iron  they  use,  and  a  fleet  of  fast 
steamers  is  kept  busy  carrying  the  ore  down  the  Great 
Lakes  to  the  furnaces  where  it  is  to  be  made  into  the  iron 
of  commerce.  The  chief  article  of  freight  upon  the  lakes, 
in  fact,  is  iron  ore,  although,  as  we  have  seen,  wheat,  lum 
ber,  and  other  things  by  the  thousands  of  tons  are  carried 
on  them. 

Iron  in  a  state  of  nature  is  never  found  pure.  As  it  lies 
in  the  earth,  it  is  in  veins  or  pockets,  walled  about  with 
rock,  and  so  mixed  with  stone  that  you  cannot  dig  out 
a  piece  of  iron  that  is  perfectly  pure.  It  is  only  by  melt 
ing  the  iron  with  limestone,  in  a  peculiar  wray  called  smelt 
ing,  that  we  can  get  the  pure  iron  out  of  the  rock  in  which 
it  is  mixed. 

Now  smelting  requires  good  coal.  But  there  are  no 
good  coal  fields  within  many  hundreds  of  miles  of  Lake 
Superior.  The  iron  can  be  taken  to  the  coal  easier  than 
the  coal  can  be  brought  to  the  iron.  So  the  heavy  iron 
ore  is  carried  down  through  the  Great  Lakes  to  Detroit, 


IN    AN    IRON    MINE.  l8l 

Toledo,  Cleveland,  Buffalo,  Pittsburg,  Chicago,  and  other 
points,  to  which  the  coal  can  be  more  cheaply  transported. 
At  these  cities  the  coal  and  iron  can  easily  be  brought  to 
gether,  and  hence  we  find  them  large  manufacturing  points. 

But  let  me  tell  you  something  about  the  iron  mines  of 
the  Lake  Superior  region.  They  lie  south  and  west  of  the, 
lake,  in  five  little  ranges  of  mountains.  The  best  of  the 
mines  are  from  fifteen  to  one  hundred  miles  back  from 
the  water,  on  the  mountains,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
higher  than  the  level  of  the  lake.  Here  there  are  great 
steam  engines,  enormous  machines  for  pumping  the  water 
out  of  the  mines,  engines  for  compressing  the  air  which 
drives  the  long  steel  drills  into  the  rocky  ore,  so  that  dy 
namite  candles  can  be  inserted  and  the  huge  pieces  of  iron 
stone  blasted  down. 

But  suppose  we  take  a  look  into  one  of  the  mines.  We 
go  down  an  inclined  plane  more  than  a  thousand  feet  in  a 
little  ore  car,  and  find  ourselves  in  a  network  of  great  tun 
nels.  There  are  electric  lights  everywhere,  and  the  tunnels 
are  almost  as  bright  as  day.  Now  and  then  we  hear  the 
boom !  boom !  boom !  of  the  blasting  going  on  in  other 
parts  of  the  mine.  The  sound  shakes  the  air,  and  we 
fear  lest  the  walls  of  the  mine  may  fall  down  upon  us. 
About  us  there  are  sooty-faced  men,  who  lift  up  the  great 
pieces  of  iron  ore  and  throw  them  into  little  steel  cars, 
which  are  to  be  carried  by  machinery  to  the  surface. 

Now  we  are  again  at  the  top.  A  car  loaded  with  ore 
comes  close  behind  us.  Let  us  wait  and  go  writh  it,  and 
see  how  the  ore  is  put  in  the  ship.  The  slope  of  the  rail 
road  from  the  mines  to  the  lakes  is  so  great  that  the  cars 
run  down  by  their  own  wreight. 

The  railroad  track  is  built  upon  a  great  trestlework  of 
steel  almost  a  quarter  of  a  mile  out  into  the  lake.  It  is 


I  82 


THE    GREAT    LAKES. 


built  high  up  above  the  water.  Near  the  end  of  the  trestle- 
work  there  are  a  number  of  big  pockets,  or  bins,  into  which 
the  ore  is  dumped  from  the  cars.  These  bins  are  so  high 
above  the  water  that  the  iron- ore  steamers  can  sail  right 
under  them ;  hence,  by  opening  a  door  at  the  bottom,  the 
ore  can  be  dropped  down  into  the  holds  of  the  steamers. 
In  this  way  thousands  of  tons  of  iron  can  be  loaded  in  a 
very  few  hours. 

Our  car  goes  rushing  down  this  track.  It  thunders  out 
over  the  trestlework,  and  we  see  the  red-and-brown  iron 
stone  dropped  down  into  the  bin.  As  we  look,  an  ore 
steamer  approaches,  and  a  few  hours  later  the  ore  is  on  its 
way  to  the  furnaces.  Could  we  follow  it  we  should  see  it 
dumped  out  on  other  great  piles  of  ore,  on  the  wharves  of 
Cleveland  or  some  other  lake  city.  A  few  days  later  it 
will  perhaps  be  in  an  iron  foundry,  and  may  come  out  in 
the  form  of  a  steel  rail  to  make  part  of  a  railroad  on  the 
great  plains. 

It  is  said  that  the  richest  copper  mines  of  Lake  Superior 
were  discovered  by  a  pig.  These  mines  are  situated  on  the 

Keweenaw  Peninsula, 
the  upper  part  of  Mich 
igan,  which  juts  out  into 
the  lake.  This  penin 
sula  is  barren  and  rocky. 
It  is  not  good  for  farm 
ing,  but  its  rich  copper 
beds  have  caused  cities 
to  be  built,  and  there 
The  copper  Regions.  are  now  thousands  of 

people      living     there. 

According  to  the  story,  a  pig  had  strayed  from  the  drove 
to  which  it  belonged,  and  had  fallen  into  a  pit.  In  trying 


THE    COPPER    REGIONS.  183 

to  root  its  way  out,  it  uncovered  a  great  mass  of  copper, 
and  showed  the  world  the  site  of  one  of  the  best  copper 
mines  that  has  ever  been  discovered.  Vast  fortunes  have 
been  made  out  of  it,  and  several  thousand  men  are  now  at 
work  day  and  night  in  getting  out  the  copper  which  lies 
buried  there. 

This  mine  is  the  famous  Calumet  and  Hecla  copper  mine. 
It  is  in  a  slice  of  rock  varying  in  width  from  that  of  the 
average  parlor  to  the  average  hall,  or  from  ten  to  fifteen 
feet  wide,  going  down,  down  into  the  earth.  This  slice  of 
rock  is  streaked  and  veined  with  almost  pure  copper. 
Some  bits  of  the  copper  are  so  pure  that  they  might  al 
most  be  hammered  into  pennies,  and  one  twentieth  of  the 
whole  mass  is  copper. 

There  are  many  other  mines  in  the  Lake  Superior  region, 
but  none  so  rich  as  this.  The  miners  are  now  working 
more  than  a  half-mile  below  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and 
enormous  steam  engines  haul  up  the  steel  cars  filled  with 
copper  ore  mixed  with  rock.  Each  car  holds  what  would 
be  a  load  for  four  horses.  The  ore  is  taken  from  the  mines 
to  the  stamping  mills  not  far  away,  and  is  there  crushed 
into  powder,  so  that  the  stone  can  be  washed  from  the 
copper. 

Copper,  unlike  iron,  is  often  found  in  its  pure  state.  It 
seldom  combines  with  other  minerals,  although  silver  is 
sometimes  mixed  with  it.  The  copper  of  Lake  Superior 
is  often  found  in  solid  masses,  some  of  which  weigh  as 
much  as  five  or  six  hundred  tons.  Such  masses  are  broken 
up  when  possible,  and  the  pieces  are  put  into  barrels  and 
shipped  down  the  lakes  for  smelting. 

There  are  also  smelting  furnaces  not  far  from  the  mines. 
Let  us  go  to  one  of  them  and  see  the  copper  ore  turned  into 
bright  bricks  of  reddish  yellow.  The  copper,  mixed  with 

CARP.  N.  AM.  — 12 


1 84  THE    GREAT    LAKES. 

coal  and  limestone,  is  put  into  the  furnace.  The  fires  are 
lighted,  and  the  intense  heat  soon  causes  the  whole  to  be 
come  one  seething  mass.  Then  a  hole  at  the  bottom  of 
the  furnace  is  opened,  and  a  reddish-golden  stream  flows 
out.  How  hot  it  is!  The  stream  is  so  bright  that  it 
dazzles  our  eyes.  It  makes  us  think  of  the  sun  when  it 
sets  like  a  great  round  red  ball  of  fire  in  a  clear  sky. 

As  the  copper  flows  out  of  the  furnace,  it  is  caught  in 
long-handled  iron  dippers  by  men,  who  carry  it,  bubbling 
and  blazing,  to  a  set  of  iron  molds  fastened  to  a  frame  at 
the  edge  of  a  water  trough.  They  pour  the  golden  liquid 
into  the  molds.  It  hardens  almost  as  soon  as  it  touches 
the  iron,  and  other  men  lift  the  molds  with  hooks,  and  turn 
them  over,  so  that  the  metal,  now  in  the  shape  of  bricks,  falls 
out  into  the  trough.  The  water  soon  cools  the  hot  copper. 

Each  brick  is  about  two  feet  long,  six  inches  wide,  and 
four  inches  thick.  It  weighs  about  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  pounds.  It  is  the  color  of  a  polished  copper  kettle, 
and  it  is  now  ready  to  be  turned  into  wire,  to  be  used  for 
electrical  machines  or  the  making  of  brass,  or  even  to  be 
sent  to  our  mint  to  be  stamped  into  one-cent  pieces. 

Equally  great,  if  not  greater,  than  the  Lake  Superior 
copper  region  is  that  of  Montana,  of  which  we  may  see 
something  during  our  travels  in  the  western  part  of  our 
country. 


XXIV.     LIFE    IN    THE    LUMBER    REGIONS. 

WE  shall  spend  the  most  of  to-day  in  the  woods,  for 
some  of  the  largest  forests  of  the  United  States  are 
to  be  found  in  the  region  of  the  Great  Lakes.     When  our 
country  was  first  discovered,  almost  all  the  land  between 


THE    FORESTS. 


I85 


the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  Mississippi  River  was  one  dense 
woods  of  pine,  oak,  maple,  beech,  and  other  trees.  There 
were  so  many  trees  that  no  one  thought  of  saving  them. 
The  settlers  cut  them  down  as  fast  as  they  could,  in  order 


Lumbering. 

to  use  the  land  for  farming.  They  piled  the  trees  up  where 
they  fell,  and  burned  them.  This  work  went  on  for  many 
years,  and .  in  this  way  some  of  the  most  valuable  timber 
in  the  United  States  has  been  lost. 

There  are,  however,  vast  forests  left  in  some  parts  of  our 
country.  The  great  pine  lands  of  Maine  still  furnish  lum 
ber  for  many  parts  of  the  East.  We  traveled  for  miles 
through  pine  and  cypress  trees  in  our  journeys  along  the 
South  Atlantic  coast  and  the  lower  Mississippi,  and  we 


1 86  THE    GREAT    LAKES. 

shall  find  wonderful  trees  in  California  and  Oregon,  and  in 
the  region  about  Puget  Sound. 

The  forests  of  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  and  Michigan  are 
so  dense  that  you  might  get  lost  in  them  and  travel  for 
weeks  without  finding  your  way  out.  As  we  sailed  up  the 
Mississippi  from  St.  Louis  to  St.  Paul,  we  passed  thousands 
of  logs  which  were  floating  down  the  river  toward  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico.  They  had  come  from  the  forests  of  Minnesota 
and  Wisconsin.  They  had  been  hauled  upon  the  snow  to 
the  rivers  and  smaller  streams  which  flow  into  the  Missis 
sippi,  and  were  on  their  way  to  the  markets.  As  we  travel 
on  down  through  the  Great  Lakes  we  shall  meet  other  rafts 
of  logs,  which  are  towed  by  steamers ;  and  at  many  of  the 
ports  we  shall  hear  the  scream  of  the  gang  saw  as  it  cuts 
the  logs  into  boards. 

We  use  wood  in  a  thousand  different  ways,  and  we  ship 
quantities  of  it  to  Europe  and  Asia.  We  cut  down  so 
many  trees  every  year,  in  fact,  that  if  they  could  all  be 
collected  together  we  should  have  enough  lumber  to  make 
a  wooden  track  a  foot  thick,  and  more  than  twice  as  wide 
as  the  average  country  road,  entirely  round  the  world. 

Lumbering  in  the  Great  Lakes  region  can  be  carried  on 
only  when  the  snow  is  on  the  ground.  The  cutting  down 
of  the  trees  is  done  by  men  who  go  into  the  woods  in  the 
fall  and  remain  there  all  \vinter.  They  build  big  log  cab 
ins,  filling  the  cracks  between  the  logs  with  mud  and  sod. 
They  have  horses  and  often  oxen  with  them,  and  for  these 
they  build  stables.  Often  fifty  men  will  live  in  one  large 
cabin.  They  sleep  in  bunks,  put  up  along  the  walls,  and 
eat  together  at  a  common  table,  using  tin  plates  and  other 
dishes  which  will  not  easily  break.  They  take  enough 
provisions  with  them  to  last  all  winter.  Each  gang  has  its 
own  cook,  and  the  bill  of  fare  of  pork  and  beans,  canned 


LUMBERING. 


I87 


meats,  and  hot  bread  is  often  varied  by  a  venison  stew  or 
bear  steak  from  game  shot  upon  the  ground. 

In  chopping,  everything  is  done  according  to  order. 
First,  a  man  known  as  the  underchopper  goes  through  the 
forest  and  marks  the  trees  to  be  cut.  He  knows  what 
trees  will  make  the  best  lumber.  Then  come  the  choppers 


A  Big  Load  of  Logs. 

and  sawyers.  A  cut  is  first  made  in  the  tree  with  a  long 
saw,  which  is  pulled  back  and  forth  by  a  man  at  each 
end.  Then  the  choppers  with  their  axes  chop  above 
and  beyond  the  saw  cut  until  at  last  the  great  trunk  is 
chopped  through,  and  the  giant  of  the  forest  falls  with  a  crash 
to  the  ground.  The  limbs  must  now  be  trimmed  off,  and 
the  logs  sawed  into  the  right  lengths  by  a  cross-cut  saw. 


1 88  THE    GREAT    LAKES. 

The  next  thing  is  to  get  the  logs  to  the  stream.  This  is 
done  on  sledges,  pulled  by  two  or  more  horses  over  a 
road  of  snow  or  ice.  In  this  way  horses  can  haul  many 
times  as  much  as  they  could  on  a  common  road  with  a 
wagon.  Sometimes  a  load  of  logs  big  enough  to  fill  an 
ordinary  bedroom  from  floor  to  ceiling  is  thus  carried  to 
the  river  or  other  stream.  The  first  thing  to  be  done  is  the 
making  of  the  road.  The  snow  is  beaten  down,  then  a 
sprinkling  machine  is  used,  and  the  water,  freezing  as  it 
falls,  forms  a  road  of  ice,  over  which  the  great  loads  can  be 
easily  pulled. 

The  streams  to  which  the  logs  are  carried  are  frozen  in 
the  winter,  and  the  heavy  logs  are  rolled  off  upon  the  ice, 
so  that  for  a  long  distance  the  whole  stream  is  bridged  with 
logs.  The  ice  is  perhaps  several  feet  thick,  and  it  does  not 
break  under  the  great  weight. 

In  the  spring,  when  the  thaw  comes,  the  ice  melts,  the 
streams  rise,  and  a  freshet  carries  the  logs  down  into  the 

lakes,  or  into  the  Mis 
sissippi  or  other  rivers. 
Several  men  go  with 
each  collection,  or 
"  drive,"  of  logs,  in  or-' 
der  to  keep  it  moving 
and  to  prevent  the  logs 
from  being  scattered. 

A  "Drive  "of  Logs.  The     mGn     JUmP     fr°m 

log    to    log,    and    are 

always  watching  to  see  that  none  lodge  on  stones  or 
against  the  banks,  for  then  the  logs  coming  behind  would 
be  stopped  and  would  cause  a  jam.  These  men  have  the 
soles  of  their  boots  covered  with  sharp  nails  in  order  to 
give  them  a  sure  footing.  They  have  hooks  and  spikes 


LUMBERING.  189 

on  long  poles,  with  which  they  push  and  pull  the  logs  this 
way  and  that.  When  a  jam  occurs,  the  logs  become  piled 
one  on  top  of  another.  They  act  more  like  animals  than 
wood.  Some  dive  under  the  jam,  some  stand  on  end 
against  it,  and  others  climb  up  on  top.  After  a  short 
while  they  are  so  wedged  together  that  you  would  think 
they  could  never  be  gotten  apart.  The  logger,  however, 
goes  to  the  front  of  the  jam,  and  with  his  pike,  inch  by 
inch,  pulls  out  the  logs  forming  the  keystone,  as  it  were,  of 
the  jam,  and  then  the  whole  mass  comes  tumbling  down 
into  the  river. 

With  nearly  every  gang  of  loggers  there  is  a  cook,  who 
usually  calls  the  men  to  meals  by  blowing  upon  a  tin  horn. 
Sometimes  cabins  are  built  on  rafts,  the  rafts  are  floated 
down  the  river  behind  the  logs,  and  in  the  cabins  the  cook 
ing  is  done,  and  there  the  men  sleep  at  night. 

There  are  many  sawmills  along  Lake  Michigan,  in  which 
logs  are  sawed  up  into  lumber  ready  to  be  shipped  upon 
boats  down  the  lakes.  Some  of  the  mills  have  what  are 
know  as  gang  saws,  a  number  of  saws  moving  up  and 
down  by  machinery  through  a  log,  and  sawing  the  whole 
log  into  boards  at  once.  Others  have  what  is  known  as  the 
band  saw.  This  is  a  wide  belt  of  steel,  one  edge  of  which 
has  teeth  just  like  a  saw.  The  band  saw  moves  like  a  band 
of  leather  upon  two  great  wheels,  one  high  above  the  other. 
As  the  steel  belt  moves,  the  teeth  in  the  front  side  of  it  saw 
through  the  logs,  so  that  boards  are  thus  made  faster,  it  is 
said,  than  even  the  gang  saws  can  cut  them.  The  best  of 
the  pine  lumber  is  used  for  the  woodwork  and  finishing  of 
houses.  A  large  part  of  the  refuse  is  turned  into  shingles, 
the  bark  and  sawdust  are  used  for  fuel,  and  these  great  saw 
mills  are  so  managed  that  almost  every  particle  of  the  tree 
is  made  to  serve  some  purpose. 


THE    GREAT    LAKES. 


XXV.     OUR    GREAT    CITIES    ON    THE    LAKES. 

A 5  we  sail  down  the  lakes,  we  stop  at  some  of  the  great 
cities  which  have  been  built  up  because  of  the  facilities 
these  waterways  have  given  them  for  cheap  transportation, 
manufacturing,  and  commerce. 

We  pass  ships  loaded  with  lumber  and  iron  as  we  leave 
Lake  Huron  and  sail  through  the  green  expanse  known  as 
the  St.  Clair  Flats,  and  into  the  Detroit  River;  and  we 
learn  that  much  lumber  and  iron  are  unloaded  at  Detroit. 

Detroit  is  the  largest  city  in  Michigan.  It  lies  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  Detroit  River,  at  a  natural  crossing  be 
tween  Canada  and  the  United  States.  It  is  so  situated  that 
goods  can  be  shipped  from  it  by  rail  and  water  to  all  parts 
of  the  country.  We  find,  therefore,  that  it  has  large  car 
shops  and  other  wood-working  establishments.  The  com 
merce  of  the  Detroit  River  is  so  great  that,  on  an  average, 
a  vessel  of  some  kind  passes  Detroit  every  seven  and  a  half 
minutes  during  the  season.  The  city  has  beautiful  resi 
dences,  and  we  enjoy  our  tour  through  its  wide  streets, 
upon  which  we  walk  in  the  shade  of  magnificent  elm  and 
maple  trees. 

From  Detroit  it  is  but  a  few  hours'  ride  to  Toledo,  a 
large  and  prosperous  city  at  the  western  end  of  Lake  Erie. 
Farther  on,  about  the  middle  of  the  southern  shore  of  the 
lake,  is  the  great  port  of  Cleveland,  celebrated  for  its  manu 
factures  of  coal  oil,  iron  ships  for  the  lake  trade,  and  all 
kinds  of  machinery.  The  city  is  situated  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Cuyahoga  River.  We  sail  into  the  river,  past  enor 
mous  docks  piled  high  with  iron  ore  brought  down  from 
Lake  Superior. 

Cleveland  is  said  to  be  the  greatest  iron- ore  market  in 


CLEVELAND. 


191 


the  world.  The  mines  which  we  have  visited  along  Lake 
Superior  are  largely  owned  by  Cleveland  men,  and  many 
of  the  steel  steamers  which  carry  the  ore  down  the  lakes 
are  built  in  Cleveland.  We  learn  that  the  rich  coal  fields 
of  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  are  not  far  from  this  point,  and 


A  Park  Scene  in  Cleveland. 

thus  see  that  Cleveland  can  have  cheap  coal  and  cheap  iron, 
which,  together  with  its  cheap  water  transportation,  aid  in 
making  it  so  thriving  a  manufacturing  city. 

We  take  a  walk  through  Cleveland,  stopping  for  a  mo 
ment  upon  the  great  stone  viaduct  which  crosses  the  Cuya- 
hoga  River,  uniting  the  east  and  west  sides  of  the  city,  and 
then  go  on  into  Superior  Street  and  visit  the  chief  business 
portions  of  the  town. 

We  stop  in  the  beautiful  park  in  the  center  of  Cleveland 
to  take  a  look  at  the  bronze  statue  of  Captain  Perry,  rep- 


192 


THE    GREAT    LAKES. 


resenting  him  as  he  looked  when  he  so  bravely  charged 
and  captured  the  British  squadron  on  Lake  Erie,  in  the 
War  of  1812.  Perry  was  only  twenty-seven  years  old  at 
the  time  of  that  battle.  The  British  expected  an  easy  vic 
tory,  but  he  defeated  them ;  and  in  sending  the  news  of 
his  triumph  to  General  W.  H.  Harrison,  he  used  the  words 
which  have  since  become  historical : 

"  We  have  met  the  enemy,  and  they  are  ours." 
A  walk  upon  Euclid  Avenue  shows  us  one  of  the  finest 
streets  in  the  world.     The  residences  are  of  stone,  wood, 
and  brick,  and  of  all  styles  of  architecture.     Their  chief 

beauty,  however,  lies  in 
the  velvety  lawns  which 
surround  the  houses,  and 
in  the  old  forest  trees 
which  make  each  side 
of  the  street  look  like  a 
great  park. 

We  next  visit  the 
beautiful  cemetery  near 
the  lake  to  see  the  mar 
ble  monument  under 
whichPresidentGarfield 
lies  buried.  Then,  com 
ing  back  to  the  wharf, 
we  continue  our  trip  on 
Lake  Erie  to  Buffalo. 

Our  huge  steamer  moves  smoothly  and  majestically  over 
the  waves.  We  go  to  bed  in  our  cabins  shortly  after  leav 
ing,  and  awake  in  the  morning  to  find  ourselves  in  front 
of  the  city  of  Buffalo.  Buffalo  is  situated  at  the  chief 
gateway  between  the  sea  and  the  vast  regions  of  the  upper 
lakes.  Not  far  from  it  is  the  head  of  the  Welland  Canal, 


Tomb  of  President  Garfield. 


BUFFALO. 


193 


The  Harbor  at  Buffalo. 

which  connects  Lake  Erie  with  Lake  Ontario  and  the  St. 
Lawrence ;  and  the  Erie  Canal,  with  its  terminus  at  Buffalo, 
connects  the  lakes  with  the  great  ocean  commerce  which 
reaches  us  by  way  of  New  York  and  through  the  Hudson 
River.  The  latter  waterway  has  so  cheapened  the  carrying 
of  freight  to  the  interior  of  our  country  that  Buffalo  has 
become  a  great  port. 

It  is  wonderful  how  a  new  waterway  will  often  change 
the  commerce  of  a  country.  The  digging  of  the  Erie 
Canal  largely  aided  in  making  New  York  the  greatest  city 
in  the  United  States.  Before  this  canal  was  built,  it  was 
cheaper  to  send  freight  across  the  mountains  to  Pittsburg. 
It  then  took  twenty  days  and  cost  one  hundred  dollars  to 
carry  a  ton  of  goods  from  Buffalo  to  New  York.  When  the 


194  THE    GREAT    LAKES. 

canal  was  finished  it  cost  at  first  only  fourteen  dollars  a  ton  ; 
and  now  you  can  send  things  from  New  York  to  Buffalo 
for  one  dollar  a  ton,  and  some  articles  cost  less  than  fifty 
cents  a  ton. 

Before  the  canal  was  built,  wheat  was  a  very  expensive 
article  in  the  eastern  states.  In  some  places  wheat  bread 
was  a  luxury,  and  not  to  be  used  as  a  common  food.  Rye 
flour  and  corn  meal  took  the  place  of  wheat  flour.  It  is 
through  cheap  water  transportation  that  we  are  able  to  get 
flour  at  such  low  prices.  How  would  you  like  to  carry  a 
bushel  of  wheat  hundreds  of  miles  for  two  cents?  It  now 
costs  only  about  two  cents  to  carry  a  bushel  of  wheat  from 
Buffalo  to  New  York  by  way  of  the  Erie  Canal,  and  the 
freight  rates  on  the  Great  Lakes  above  are  so  low  that  the 
wheat  we  saw  loaded  in  Duluth  will  be  landed  in  Buffalo 
for  something  like  three  cents  a  bushel ;  so  that  it  costs  less 
than  ten  cents  a  bushel  to  bring  grain  from  the  Red  River 
Valley  to  New  York.  The  freight  on  flour  is  very  cheap, 
and  the  bread  which  we  shall  eat  at  our  dinner  to-day  in 
Buffalo  was  probably  made  from  flour  that  came  more 
than  a  thousand  miles  on  the  lakes. 

The  freight  on  iron  ore  from  the  mines  of  Lake  Supe 
rior  to  Buffalo  is  often  less  than  half  a  cent  a  pound, 
while  the  ore  steamers  will  carry  coal  from  here  back  to 
Duluth  for  from  fifteen  to  thirty  cents  a  ton.  A  ton  of 
coal  is  a  good  wagonload  for  two  horses  on  a  country  road. 
Think  of  carrying  a  wagonload  of  stuff  from  Buffalo  to 
Duluth  for  fifteen  cents,  and  you  can  see  how  cheaply 
goods  are  now  taken  from  one  part  of  our  land  to  another 
by  means  of  the  lakes. 

With  such  advantages,  what  should  we  expect  to  find 
here  at  Buffalo  ? 

We  should  look  for  grain  elevators  for  storing  this  wheat 


NIAGARA    FALLS.  195 

until  it  can  be  shipped  from  the  lakes  to  the  canal.  Well, 
there  are  fifty-one  such  elevators  at  Buffalo,  and  the  city 
claims  to  be  the  chief  grain-shipping  port  of  the  world. 
We  should  also  expect  to  find  flour  mills.  Buffalo  has  so 
many  of  them  that  they  grind  out  more  than  a  million 
barrels  of  flour  a  year.  There  are  rich  coal  fields  in  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania,  not  far  south  of  Buffalo,  and  we 
therefore  see  vast  coal  trestles  for  loading  hard  and  soft 
coal  upon  the  steamers.  Near  them  are  the  iron-ore  docks ; 
and  not  far  away  we  find  machine  shops,  foundries,  and 
factories,  in  which  are  made  many  kinds  of  merchandise. 
There  are  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  persons  here 
engaged  in  manufacturing,  and  we  see  that  Buffalo  is  a  rich 
and  fast- growing  city. 


XXVI.     A    VISIT   TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 

NIAGARA  FALLS  is  only  a  few  miles  from  Buffalo. 
We  can  take  the  steam  railroad  and  get  there  in  half 
an  hour,  or  we  can  ride  on  an  electric  trolley  car  to  view 
this  wonderful  work  of  nature.  The  trolley  car  carries  us 
for  miles  along  the  Niagara  River  below  the  falls,  and  from 
it  we  can  see  the  deep  gorge  through  which  the  river  runs, 
after  its  great  tumble,  on  its  way  to  Lake  Ontario. 

The  Niagara  is  one  of  the  most  wonderful  rivers  in  the 
world.  Some  of  its  waters  come  from  Lake  Superior,  and 
we  have  seen  how  they  flow  out  of  that  great  basin, 
through  the  St.  Marys  River,  down  to  the  level  of  Lake 
Huron.  It  was  by  means  of  the  huge,  locks  at  the  St. 
Marys  Falls  Canal  that  we  were  lifted  down  the  twenty- 
foot  step  which  lies  between  these  two  great  lakes.  We 


196 


THE    GREAT    LAKES. 


could  not  notice  that  we  were  going  downhill  as  we  sailed 
on  through  the  Detroit  River  and  across  Lake  Erie  to  Buf 
falo,  for  the  descent  between  the  foot  of  the  St.  Marys 
Canal  and  the  head  of  the  Niagara  River  is  very  slight. 


Niagara  Falls. 

Here,  however,  the  mighty  waters  are  poured  from  the 
Erie  basin  into  that  of  Lake  Ontario,  which  is  three  hun 
dred  and  thirty  feet  below.  The  Niagara  River  is  the 


NIAGARA    FALLS.  197 

great  down  spout  through  which  they  run.  It  is  only 
thirty-three  miles  long,  and  it  makes  more  than  half  of  its 
descent  in  one  jump  at  Niagara  Falls. 

The  volume  of  water  which  flows  between  the  banks  of 
the  Niagara  is  so  great  that  every  minute  more  than  half 
a  million  tons  of  water  are  dropped  over  the  falls ;  and  the 
force  with  which  this  water  descends  is  estimated  to  be 
greater  than  that  of  all  the  steam  engines  of  our  country 
working  together. 

The  course  of  the  Niagara,  as  it  runs  from  Lake  Erie  to 
Lake  Ontario,  is  nearly  due  north.  As  it  flows  out  of 
Lake  Erie,  the  stream  is  almost  as  quiet  as  a  mill  pond,  and 
at  first  the  fall  is  not  more  than  a  foot  to  the  mile.  Shortly 
after  leaving  Lake  Erie,  the  river  divides  and  passes  round 
Grand  Island.  At  the  lower  end  of  this  island  it  is  more 
than  a  mile  broad.  It  is  still  quiet,  and  it  moves  slowly 
on  until  it  comes  within  a  mile  of  the  falls. 

Then  the  river  becomes  narrower,  the  rapids  begin,  and 
you  see  the  waters  boiling  as  they  sweep  among  rocks 
and  about  islands.  They  seem  to  be  rousing  themselves 
up  for  their  great  jump.  They  foam  as  they  dash  about 
Goat  Island,  which  lies  on  the  edge  of  the  falls,  and  then 
take  their  hundred-and-sixty-foot  leap  downward  into  the 
great  abyss  below. 

For  the  next  seven  miles  the  river  flows  through  a  ra 
vine  the  banks  of  which  rise  almost  straight  upward  for 
from  two  to  three  hundred  feet  above  the  water.  The 
river  seems  to  give  out  mighty  sighs  as  it  rushes  between 
the  banks.  Its  waters  are  churned  about  in  whirlpools. 
They  seethe  and  foam  until  they  pass  Lewiston,  at  the  end 
of  the  gorge,  when  they  suddenly  become  quiet  and  flow 
peacefully  on  into  Lake  Ontario. 

Our  trolley  car  carries  us  to  the  village  of  Niagara  Falls, 


198 


THE    CiKEAT    LAKES. 


Whirlpool  and  Rapids. 

a  thriving  town  which  has  grown  up  for  the  accommoda 
tion  of  the  thousands  of  tourists  who  come  here  every  sea 
son.  Near  by  is  the  State  Reservation,  surrounding  the 
American  side  of  the  falls,  and  corresponding  to  it  is  Queen 
Victoria  Park,  which  the  Canadians  have  established  on  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  river. 

In  former  times  much  complaint  was  made  of  the  extor 
tion  which  the  hack  drivers  and  guides  practiced  at  Niagara. 
Now  everything  is  regulated  by  law,  and  we  find  we  can 
make  the  trip  very  cheaply.  There  are  coaches  which  take 
us  across  the  suspension  bridge  and  give  us  a  tour  of  the 
islands  and  all  the  points  of  interest  about  the  falls.  Our 
round-trip  tickets  cost  only  fifteen  cents,  and  we  have  the 
right  to  stop  and  wait  for  other  coaches  at  the  interesting 
places. 


NIAGARA    FALLS.  199 

We  first  drive  to  Goat  Island  and  see  how  the  two  great 
falls  are  divided  by  this  high  patch  of  green.  On  our 
right  are  the  American  Falls,  as  high  but  not  so  wide  as  the 
Horseshoe  Falls,  which  extend,  in  the  shape  of  a  great 
crescent,  to  the  shores  of  Canada,  on  our  left. 

What  a  thick  mist  rises  up  from  the  water!  How  the 
river  thunders  as  it  goes  over  the  rocks!  The  noise  is  so 
great  that  it  is  said  it  can  be  heard  forty  miles  away.  The 
waters  sparkle  as  they  fall.  They  bubble  and  seethe  and 
foam  in  angry  motion  in  their  bed  below  us.  Now  the  sun 
comes  out  from  behind  a  cloud.  It  darts  its  rays  into  the 
mist,  and  paints  rainbows  there.  The  rainbows  change 
as  we  look,  and  new  rainbows  appear  as  the  water  dashes 
upward  in  a  diamond  spray. 

We  stop  on  the  bridge  above  the  falls,  and  a  little  later 
go  to  the  Cave  of  the  Winds.  This  cave  is  right  under 
the  falls,  and  we  must  have  a  costume  and  a  guide  before 
we  can  undertake  the  journey.  We  can  get  both  for  a 
dollar.  We  put  on  rubber  coats  and  caps,  and  rude  pan 
taloons  or  bloomers.  Our  feet  are  shod  with  felt  slippers, 
in  order  that  we  may  not  slip,  for  the  descent  is  by  no 
means  unattended  with  danger.  Our  guides  take  us  down 
a  wooden  staircase  along  the  rocks,  until  at  last  we  are 
right  under  the  splashing  torrent.  The  noise  almost  deaf 
ens  us  as  we  go  into  the  cave,  and  as  we  stand  there  and 
look  out,  the  sun  peeps  through  the  spray,  and  we  have  a 
curtain  of  rainbows. 

Another  thrilling  experience  is  our  ride  under  the  falls 
in  the  steamboat  known  as  the  Maid  of  the  Mist.  This 
little  boat  has  powerful  machinery,  which  carries  it  in  and 
out  among  the  rocks  through  the  boiling  waters  from  one 
side  of  the  river  to  the  other. 

We  also  visit  the  whirlpool,  and  the  rapids  above  it ;  and 

CARP.  N.  AM.  — 13 


20O 


THE    (IKK AT    LARKS. 


f?/  /A?  MS/. 


then  take  a  walk  over  the  great  steel  arch  bridge  which 
crosses  the  Niagara,  connecting  Canada  with  the  United 

States.        From 

;  here  we  get  an 

other    fine  view 
of  the  falls. 

The  bridge  it 
self  is  a  wonder. 
It  crosses  right 
over  the  raging 
torrent.  It  is  a 
mighty  arch  of 
steel,  with  a  span 
of  five  hundred 
and  fifty  feet, 
said  to  be  the 
largest  span  of 

this  kind  in  the  world.  Its  approaches  are  two  hundred 
and  ninety  feet  long,  and  the  bridge  weighs  seven  million 
pounds.  On  its  top  there  are  two  tracks  for  railroads,  and 
below  are  wagonways,  sidewalks,  and  trolley-car  tracks. 

The  first  suspension  bridge  was  put  across  this  gorge 
more  than  halt  a  century  ago,  and  you  will  be  interested 
tto  know  how  boys  aided  in  its  construction.  A  civil  en 
gineer,  Mr.  Charles  Ellet,  had  planned  the  bridge.  He 
wished  to  get  a  line  from  one  side  to  the  other;  so  he 
offered  a  reward  of  five  dollars  to  any  one  who  could  get 
a  string  across  the  chasm.  The  next  windy  day,  scores  of 
boys  with  kites  in  their  hands  were  on  the  American  bank 
of  the  river,  and  before  night  a  lucky  youth  had  landed  his 
kite  on  the  opposite  side,  and  secured  the  reward. 

To  the  kite  string  there  was  now  fastened  a  strong  cord, 
and  this  was  pulled  from  one  side  to  the  other.     Then,  by 


NIAGARA    FALLS. 


2OI 


means  of  the  cord,  a  rope  was  drawn  across  the  river.  A 
cable  made  of  wires  about  as  thick  as  a  man's  thumb  was 
tied  to  the  rope.  When  the  cable  had  been  drawn  across, 
its  ends  were  fastened  to  wooden  scaffolds  built  upon  each 
side  of  the  river.  Now  an  iron  basket  was  hung  on  the 
cable,  so  that  the  workmen  could  be  drawn  in  it  from  one 
side  to  the  other. 

Mr.  Ellet  was  the  first  man  who  went  over  in  the  basket, 
and  his  trip  across  the  river  created  a  great  sensation. ' 
Then  stone  towers  were  built.  Heavy  cables  were  carried 
across  from  one  bank  to  the  other,  and  little  by  little  the 
suspension  bridge  was  made.  At  first  people  would  not 
trust  themselves  upon  the  bridge  ;  but  after  Mr.  Ellet  had 
driven  a  team  of  horses  over  it,  they  lost  their  fear,  and  it 


Steel  Arch  Bridge  across  the  Niagara. 


202  THE    GREAT  LAKES. 

came  into  general  use.  A  few  years  later  the  first  railroad 
suspension  bridge  was  built,  and  now  we  have  the  mag 
nificent  structure  upon  which  we  cross  to-day. 

Another  wonderful  piece  of  engineering  connected  with 
Niagara  Falls  is  the  tunnel  which  has  been  built  to  harness 
a  part  of  this  immense  water  power  and  make  it  work  for 
man.  The  Niagara  Tunnel  is  really  a  great  pipe  extend 
ing  about  a  mile  from  the  level  of  the  river  above  the  falls 
to  a  point  a  short  distance  below  them.  In  the  tunnel,  pits 
have  been  sunk  for  the  insertion  of  immense  turbine  wheels, 
which  are  driven  round  and  round  by  the  water  as  it  falls 
upon  them.  Attached  to  each  wheel  are  dynamos  for  the 
generation  of  electricity,  and  the  machinery  is  such  that 
each  wheel  exerts  as  much  force  as  five  thousand  horses 
all  working  at  once. 

The  electricity  thus  made  is  used  to  run  many  factories 
near  the  falls.  Some  of  it  goes  through  wires  to  Buffalo, 
to  furnish  power  for  the  machine  shops  there ;  and  there 
are  people  who  believe  that  modern  invention  will  in  the 
future  so  perfect  the  use  of  the  Niagara  water  power  that 
there  will  be  a  gigantic  manufacturing  city  about  the  falls. 
Some  think  that,  by  means  of  wires,  the  power  will  be 
carried  to  Cleveland,  Chicago,  and  New  York,  so  that  the 
falls  will  do  the  work  of  a  hundred  cities. 

Our  next  stop  is  to  be  at  Pittsburg,  and  were  all  of  this 
vast  water  power  available,  we  might  be  carried  there  by 
means  of  the  Niagara  River.  This,  however,  has  yet  to 
be  accomplished,  and  we  shall  go  on  the  old-fashioned 
railroad,  with  coal  and  steam,  instead  of  water  and  elec 
tricity,  pushing  our  cars. 


THE   FIRST   OIL   WELL.  203 


XXVII.     TRAVELS    IN   THE    OIL    REGIONS. 

WE  shall  visit  to-day  some  of  the  oil  fields  of  the 
United  States.  There  are  parts  of  our  country 
under  which  lie  vast  beds  of  porous  rock,  filled  with  coal 
oil  and  natural  gas.  The  first  oil  field  that  was  of  prac 
tical  use  to  the  world  lies  in  northwestern  Pennsylvania  and 
southwestern  New  York,  not  far  from  Buffalo,  on  the 
western  plateau  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains.  This  is 
the  largest  of  our  oil  fields,  and  it  is  the  one  through  which 
we  shall  travel  to-day. 

We  see  signs  of  coal  oil  very  soon  after  leaving  Buffalo. 
We  pass  long  railroad  trains  made  up  of  huge  iron  cylin 
ders  filled  with  oil.  We  travel  through  regions  where 
hundreds  of  derricks,  or  wooden  frames  for  raising  the  oil, 
have  been  built  up  high  above  the  earth.  We  see  vast  in 
verted  tubs  of  iron  standing  here  and  there  on  the  sides  of 
the  tracks,  and  a  smell  of  petroleum  fills  the  air.  Each  of  the 
derricks  stands  over  an  oil  well.  The  inverted  tubs  are  the 
iron  tanks  for  storing  the  oil.  Each  of  them  holds  from 
twenty-five  thousand  to  thirty  thousand  barrels  of  oil. 
There  are  pipes  covering  the  land  like  a  network,  which 
carry  the  oil  here  and  there.  The  very  earth  seems  greasy, 
and  the  streams  are  coated  with  the  steel-blue  skum  of 
petroleum. 

We  stop  at  Titusville,  Pennsylvania,  where  the  first  oil 
well  was  sunk.  This  was  in  August,  1858.  Before  that, 
no  one  knew  that  there  were  enormous  quantities  of  coal 
oil  underground.  Most  people  used  candles  of  tallow  or 
wax,  or  little  wicks  floating  in  saucers  of  tallow  or  sperm 
oil,  for  light.  They  did  this  even  in  the  oil  regions,  not- 


204 


THE    Oil,    REGIONS. 


withstanding  some  of  the  petroleum  came  out  on  the  sur 
face  of  the  ground. 

Petroleum  was  then  called  rock  oil,  and  the  Indians  laid 
cloths  on  the  ground  and  soaked  it  up,  in  order  to  use  it 
for  medicine.  It  was  supposed  to  be  good  for  rheumatism 
and  sore  throat,  and  to  make  the  hair  grow.  The  farmers 


Oil  Derrick  and  Tanks. 

thought  it  hurt  the  land,  and  it  is  said  that  one  man  sold 
out  and  moved  off  to  Canada  because  the  oil  came  out 
upon  his  ponds  and  spoiled  the  drinking  water  for  his 
cattle.  After  oil  was  discovered,  this  farm  brought  a  for 
tune  to  its  owner. 

Drake,  the  man  who  bored  the  first  well  near  Titusville, 
thought  that  if  there  was  so  much  oil  on  the  top  of  the 


THE    USES    OF    PETROLEUM.  2OJ$ 

ground,  there  must  be  a  great  deal  below,  so  he  drilled 
down  into  the  earth  for  it.  At  sixty-nine  feet  he  struck 
oil,  and  the  greasy  fluid  flowed  forth  at  the  rate  of  thirty- 
five  barrels  a  day.  When  this  was  reported  to  other  parts 
of  the  country,  it  was  laughed  at ;  but  later  on  other  wells 
were  sunk.  It  was  soon  found  that  the  real  source  of  the 
oil  was  much  deeper  than  sixty- nine  feet,  the  best  wells 
being  those  which  went  down  from  thirteen  hundred  to 
two  thousand  feet  and  more  into  the  ground. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  bore  such  deep  holes  through  the 
rocks.  Derricks  have  to  be  erected  to  hold  the  long  steel 
drilling  tools,  which  are  so  heavy  that  it  would  take  two 
horses  to  haul  a  set  of  them.  Steam  engines  are  placed 
beside  the  derricks,  and  the  engines  keep  raising  and 
dropping  the  heavy  drills  upon  the  rock  until  a  hole  is 
forced  down  into  the  earth  a  quarter  of  a  mile  or  more. 

When  the  oil  is  struck,  a  big  torpedo  of  nitroglycerin  is 
put  down  into  the  well  and  exploded,  and  the  oil  sometimes 
gushes  forth  at  the  rate  of  hundreds  and  even  thousands 
of  barrels  a  day.  From  some  wells  the  oil  has  to  be 
pumped  ;  from  others  it  flows  freely  for  a  long  time  with 
out  pumping. 

At  first  petroleum  was  thought  to  be  of  but  very  little 
value.  Indeed,  it  is  said  that  some  wells  were  sunk  sim 
ply  for  the  novelty  of  seeing  the  oil  spout  up  into  the  air. 
Tens  of  thousands  of  barrels  of  the  crude  oil  were  allowed 
to  flow  into  the  creeks  and  rivers,  for  no  one  had  yet 
learned  how  to  utilize  it.  It  was  not  long,  however,  until 
some  one  discovered  a  method  of  refining  it  and  thus  re 
moving  its  impurities.  Then  it  was  discovered  that  by  the 
use  of  chimneys,  properly  made,  the  refined  oil  could  be 
•  burned  in  lamps,  giving  no  smoke,  and  making  a  much 
better  light  than  any  other  oil  then  known. 


206 


THE    OIL    REGIONS. 


A  Burning  Oil  Well. 

Little  by  little,  the  value  of  petroleum  for  other  purposes 
became  known  and  appreciated.  It  is  now  used  for  mak 
ing  gasoline  and  illuminating  gas ;  and  a  great  deal  is 
manufactured  into  benzine  and  used  in  the  making  of 
India  rubber  and  rubber  goods.  Out  of  the  refuse  from 
refining  it  come  vaseline  and  other  things.  Indeed,  it  is 
said  that  two  hundred  important  products  are  made  from 
crude  petroleum.  Its  principal  use,  however,  is  for  burn 
ing  in  lamps,  where  it  has  superseded  all  other  oils.  The 
refined  oil  used  for  this  purpose  is  called  kerosene. 

Within  a  few  years  after  Captain  Drake  struck  oil,  this 
part  of  Pennsylvania  was  filled  with  men  from  all  parts  of 
the  world  who  had  come  here  to  make  their  fortunes. 
Cities  grew  up  in  different  parts  of  the  oil  territory,  and  a 
vast  industry  was  founded  to  get  the  oil  out  of  the  earth 
and  to  prepare  it  for  the  markets.  Since  then  we  have 
produced  at  times  more  than  a  hundred  million  barrels  of 


NATURAL   GAS.  2O/ 

oil  a  year.  We  have  also  extensive  oil  fields  in  California, 
Texas,  Ohio,  West  Virginia,  Indiana,  Kansas,  and  Okla 
homa,  and  to-day  our  petroleum  has  a  wider  sale  than  any 
other  thing  we  ship  abroad.  Our  oil  is  now  sent  to  all 
parts  of  the  world.  It  is  used  by  the  people  of  every  con 
tinent.  It  is  carried  on  camels  over  the  deserts  of  Africa. 
I  have  seen  it  pushed  in  cans  on  wheelbarrows  in  the 
streets  of  Peking  in  China,  and  have  watched  the  natives  of 
India  burning  it  in  their  huts  on  the  Himalaya  Mountains. 

Great  tank  steamers  have  been  built  for  carrying  the  oil 
over  the  seas ;  and  a  network  of  iron  pipes  has  been  laid, 
so  that  the  oil  in  the  iron  tanks  which  we  see  in  the  oil 
regions  can  be  pumped  over  the  mountains  and  through 
the  valleys  to  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York, 
where  there  are  refineries  in  which  it  is  prepared  for  use, 
and  from  where  it  is  sent,  through  other  pipes,  to  the 
steamers.  There  are  lines  of  pipe  also  running  from  the 
oil  regions  to  Cleveland,  Pittsburg,  and  Chicago,  so  that 
by  the  turning  of  a  valve  the  owner  of  the  oil  can  let  it 
out  into  a  pipe  in  which  it  will  flow  to  almost  any  market 
he  wishes.  The  pipe  lines  of  the  United  States  are  in 
deed  so  many  that  if  stretched  out  in  one  single  line  they 
would  reach  entirely  round  the  \vorld. 

In  our  travels  through  the  oil  region  we  pass  through 
towns  whose  streets  at  first  seem  to  be  filled  with  torchlight 
processions.  A  second  look  shows  us  that  the  torches  are 
stationary,  and  that  each  consists  of  a  round  black  pipe, 
out  of  which  comes  a  waving  flame  of  fire.  That  flame  is 
produced  by  natural  gas.  It  flows  forth  from  the  depths 
of  th,e  earth.  It  comes  from  huge  gas  reservoirs  made  by 
nature,  hundreds  of  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
Such  reservoirs  are  common  in  the  oil  regions,  where  the 
gas  and  oil  are  often  found  close  together. 


208  THE    OIL    REGIONS. 

Men  drill  for  gas  much  as  they  do  for  oil.  They  bore 
holes  into  the  earth  by  means  of  derricks  and  drilling  tools, 
going  down  from  one  thousand  to  several  thousand  feet 
before  they  get  through  the  hard  rock  which  forms  the 
heavy,  tight  roof  to  the  porous  rock  in  which  the  gas  is 
stored. 

When  the  gas  rock  is  struck,  the  gas  rushes  out  with 
great  force.  It  carries  water  and  stone  up  with  it  at  first, 
and  a  pipe  is  driven  down  into  the  well  to  keep  water  from 
flowing  into  it.  After  this  the  stream  of  gas  comes  out  of 
the  top  of  the  pipe  so  fast  that  in  a  good  well  it  is  impos 
sible  to  strike  the  mouth  of  the  pipe,  with  a  sledgehammer. 
It  falls  upon  the  stream  of  gas  as  though  upon  a  rubber 
cushion,  and  the  gas  throws  it  up  from  the  pipe.  Hurl 
a  baseball  club  into  the  stream.  It  will  be  carried  eighty 
feet  or  more  into  the  air,  and  as  it  descends  into  the  stream 
it  will  be  lifted  again  and  again,  until  at  last,  coming  out 
side  the  current,  it  will  drop  to  the  ground. 

I  have  taken  a  hammer  and  tried  to  hit  the  top  of  the 
two-inch  pipe  of  a  small  gas  well.  The  gas  stream  threw 
the  hammer  upward  again  and  again,  and  I  could  not 
pound  the  iron.  The  gas  coming  out  of  this  little  pipe 
made  a  noise  which  was  almost  deafening.  The  stream  of 
gas  was  of  a  bluish  color,  and  upon  my  putting  my  fingers 
close  to  it,  I  found  it  was  as  cold  as  ice. 

Some  of  the  richest  gas  fields  of  the  United  States  are 
in  western  Ohio  and  eastern  Indiana.  The  gas  from  these 
places  is  piped  to  Toledo,  Indianapolis,  and  other  towns, 
and  is  used  for  manufacturing. 

In  my  travels  in  western  Ohio,  I  was  once  shown  the 
wonderful  force  of  the  great  Karg  Well,  near  Findlay, 
which  was  then  flowing  twelve  million  cubic  feet  of  gas  a 
day.  A  pipe  four  inches  in  diameter  had  been  run  out 


NATURAL    GAS. 


209 


from  the  well  above  the  banks  of  a  little  river.  A  match 
was  held  in  front  of  the  pipe,  and  a  lever  was  turned  so  that 
the  gas  came  slowly  out. 
It  was  lighted,  and  first 
formed  whatseemed  like 
a  bonfire  hanging  above 
the  water.  Then  the  pipe 
was  gradually  opened, 
and  the  flame  increased 
until  at  last  the  gas 
poured  forth  with  a  roar 
greater  than  that  of  Ni 
agara.  The  flame  spread 
out  like  a  great  sheet.  It 
was  from  thirty  to  forty 
feet  long.  It  hung  over 
the  rapid-running  wrater, 
making  it  so  warm  that 
clouds  of  steam  rose  up 
and  touched  the  flame. 
The  noise  shook  the 
earth.  The  heavy  iron 
pipe  quivered  as  the  gas  came  forth,  and  the  air  was  so  hot 
near  the  stream  as  to  be  almost  unendurable.  Still  the 
end  of  the  pipe  was  cold.  The  rush  of  the  gas  was  so  great 
that  it  blew  the  fire  five  feet  away  from  the  mouth  of  the 
pipe. 

I  threw  blocks  of  wood  and  pieces  of  stone  into  the  gas, 
and  saw  them  carried  far  out  into  the  river.  The  sheet  of 
flame  was  steady,  and  the  noise  lasted  until  a  valve,  which 
moved  so  gently  that  a  boy  could  operate  it,  was  turned 
and  the  gas  shut  off. 

Gas  fields  are  of  great  value  to  the  towns  near  them. 


A  Burning  Gas  Well. 


210  THE    OIL    REGIONS. 

All  the  cooking  and  warming  of  the  houses  is  done  by  gas, 
so  that  there  is  no  wood  or  coal  to  carry  in,  nor  ashes  to 
take  out.  The  fires  are  made  by  dropping  pieces  of 
lighted  paper  into  the  stoves,  and  a  twist  of  the  finger  turns 
the  valve  that  lets  in  the  gas.  A  turn  the  other  way,  and 
your  fire  is  out ;  or  it  will  burn  all  clay  and  all  night,  if  you 
wish  it. 

Gas  is  often  burned  in  grates,  the  jets  coming  out  of 
sheets  of  asbestos,  which  are  so  roughed  up  that  the  flame 
looks  like  frosted  gold  as  it  plays  over  them.  In  some  grates 
pieces  of  slag  and  rock  are  thrown,  and  the  burning  gas 
makes  them  red-hot,  and  you  have  what  looks  like  a  fire 
of  blazing  coals.  In  fireplaces  the  people  have  gas  logs 
made  of  clay,  which,  when  the  gas  is  lighted,  remind  you 
of  a  wood  fire  ;  and  in  the  kitchen  stoves  sticks  of  artificial 
wood  take  the  place  of  the  real  article. 

Natural  gas  has  an  enormous  heating  power,  and  we 
shall  see  it  largely  used  in  the  furnaces  of  Pittsburg,  where 
it  furnishes  the  heat  for  the  making  of  glass  and  for  some 
of  the  processes  of  iron  manufacture. 

We  find  factories  in  this  region  in  which  the  gas  is  used 
as  fuel,  and  the  factories  and  foundries  increase  as  our 
train  carries  us  on  down  the  valley  of  the  Allegheny  River. 
At  last  there  seem  to  be  machine  shops  everywhere. 
Surrounding  almost  every  town,  and  scattered  through  it, 
there  is  a  forest  of  smokestacks,  from  which,  as  the  even 
ing  shades  come  on,  flames  rise  upward,  lighting  up  the 
country  for  miles  around,  and  making  a  scene  which  is 
weird,  ghostlike,  and  almost  terrible. 

We  are  now  nearing  one  of  the  greatest  manufacturing 
cities  of  the  United  States.  We  are  in  the  suburbs  of  the 
smoky  city  of  Pittsburg,  in  which  thousands  of  men  are 
busy  day  and  night  making  iron  and  iron  manufactures. 


DISCOVERY    OF    COAL. 


211 


XXVIII.     TRAVELS    IN    THE    COAL    REGIONS. 

HAVE  you  ever  thought  what  strange  things  there  are 
away  down  under  the  ground  ? 

We  saw  some  of  them  when  we  visited  the  copper  and 
iron  mines  of  Lake  Superior ;  we  saw  others  in  the  natural 
gas  and  oil  fields  ;  and  to-day  we  are  to  examine  something 
else,  which  is  even  more 
wonderful.  It  is  some 
thing  that  we  use  every 
day,  and  which  we  could 
not  well  get  along  with 
out.  It  is  coal. 

Have  you  everthought 
what  a  wonderful  thing 
coal  is  ? 

Take  up  a  lump  of  the 
dirty  black  stuff  and  look  at  it.  Can  you  realize  that  that 
lump  was  once  parts  of  plants  and  vegetables  ?  that  it  was 
growing  ages  and  ages  ago,  and  then  became  so  covered 
over  with  earth  and  stone  that  after  a  long  time  it  hard 
ened  and  turned  into  coal?  Coal,  coal  oil,  and  natural  gas, 
with  respect  to  one  another,  might  be  called  cousins.  It 
is  thought  that  all  were  made  in  much  the  same  way,  and 
they  are,  as  you  know,  of  much  the  same  nature. 

Men  lived  for  thousands  of  years  upon  the  earth  before 
they  learned  that  coal  was  good  to  burn.  All  the  iron 
used  before  the  days  of  the  middle  ages  was  smelted 
from  the  ore  with  charcoal.  A  fairy  tale  is  told  of  how  a 
Belgian  blacksmith  discovered  that  stone  coal  was  good 
for  iron  making.  This  blacksmith  was  a  very  poor  man. 
He  had  to  make  the  charcoal  which  he  used  in  his  forge, 


The  Coal  Regions. 


2T2  THE    COAL    REGIONS. 

but  he  found  it  took  so  much  time  that,  hard  as  he  might 
work,  he  was  not  able  to  make  enough  money  to  keep  his 
family.  At  last,  in  despair,  he  was  about  to  kill  himself, 
when  a  white-bearded  old  man  appeared  at  his  shop,  and 
told  him  to  go  to  the  mountains  near  by  and  dig  out  the 
black  earth  and  burn  it.  He  did  so,  and  was  able  to  make 
a  horseshoe  at  one  forging.  This  is  the  Belgian  story  of 
the  discovery  of  coal. 

The  first  coal  found  in  America  was  near  Ottawa,  Illinois. 
It  was  found  by  Father  Hennepin,  a  French  explorer  who 
traveled  through  that  part  of  our  country  in  1679. 

The  first  coal  mines  worked  in  the  United  States  were 
not  far  from  Richmond,  Virginia.  This  coal  region  was 
discovered  by  a  boy  who  was  fishing.  While  he  was  hunt 
ing  for  crabs  for  bait  in  a  small  creek,  he  stumbled  on  the 
outcroppings  of  the  James  River  coal  beds. 

Coal  is  of  different  kinds.  Bituminous  or  soft  coal  can 
be  broken  without  trouble,  and  some  kinds  of  it  burn  so 
easily  that  a  lump  can  be  lighted  with  a  match.  Anthra 
cite  coal  is  almost  as  hard  as  stone,  and  is  very  difficult  to 
break.  It  was  a  long  time  after  soft  coal  was  used  before 
people  knew  that  anthracite  coal  would  burn.  Still,  an 
thracite  coal  now  forms  a  large  part  of  the  fuel  of  the 
United  States.  There  is  a  little  anthracite-coal  region  in 
northeastern  Pennsylvania,  about  Wilkesbarre  and  Scran- 
ton,  two  hundred  miles  from  New  York  city,  and  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  Philadelphia,  which 
produces  every  year  coal  that  sells  for  more  than  the 
annual  product  of  all  the  gold  mines  of  the  United  States. 
It  is  the  richest  coal  field  in  the  world.  More  than 
fifty  million  tons  of  hard  coal  are  taken  out  of  it  every 
year,  and  the  mining  has  been  going  on  for  seventy-five 
years. 


ANTHRACITE     COAL. 


213 


These  coal  fields  are  said  to  have  been  discovered  by 
Nicho  Allen,  when  George  Washington  was  President  of 
the  United  States.  Allen  was  a  hunter.  One  night  he 
encamped  in  this  region,  building  a  wood  fire  upon  some 
black  stones.  After  dinner  he  lay  down  by  the  fire  and 
went  to  sleep.  He  awoke  to  find  himself  almost  roasted. 
The  stones  were  on  fire,  and  Pennsylvania  anthracite  coal 
was  burning  for  the  first  time. 

Shortly  after  this  a  company  was  formed  to  sell  the  new 
coal.  Some  of  it  was  shipped  to  Philadelphia;  but  the 
people  did  not  know  how  to  use  it,  and  could  not  make 
it  burn.  It  was  very  unpopular,  and  those  who  had 
bought  it  thought  they  had  been  cheated.  Some  of  them 
finally  got  a  writ  from  the  city  authorities  denouncing  the 
men  who  sold  anthracite  as  knaves  and  scoundrels  for 
trying  to  impose  rocks  upon  the  people  for  coal. 


A  Coal  Breaker. 


214  THE    COAL    REGIONS. 

Anthracite  coal  as  it  comes  out  of  the  mines  contains 
great  quantities  of  stone,  slate,  and  dust.  It  has  to  be 
broken  up  and  picked  over  before  it  can  be  used.  This  is 
done  in  what  are  known  as  coal  breakers.  A  coal  breaker 
is  a  building  almost  as  big  as  one  of  the  grain  elevators  we 
saw  at  Duluth.  The  coal  is  taken  to  the  top,  and  by- 
machinery  the  lumps  are  separated  into  different  sizes. 
They  are  then  run  through  inclined  troughs,  or  chutes,  and 
boys,  who  are  paid  about  fifty  cents  a  day,  pick  out  the 
slate  and  other  rubbish  as  the  coal  goes  by. 

The  chief  coal  of  the  world,  however,  is  bituminous  or 
soft  coal.  This  coal  is  found  in  many  parts  of  the  United 
States;  and  it  is  interesting  to  know  that  we  have  more 
coal  than  any  other  country  in  the  world,  just  as  we  have 
more  and  better  iron.  This  is  a  very  valuable  thing  for 
us  as  a  nation,  because  manufacturing  is  chiefly  done  by 
means  of  coal  and  iron,  and  hence  we  shall  always  have 
plenty  to  do  in  making  things  to  sell. 

Coal,  in  fact,  exists  in  three  fourths  of  our  states  and 
territories,  and  it  is  mined  in  thirty  of  them.  The  most 
of  the  coal  of  North  America  is  in  the  section  east  of  the 
Mississippi  River,  and  by  far  the  greater  part  lies  in  the 
Appalachian  Mountains.  From  the  northern  part  of  Penn 
sylvania,  running  down  through  these  mountains  clear  into 
central  Alabama,  there  is  a  great  bed  of  bituminous  coal 
which  is  from  eighty  to  ninety  miles  wide.  This  coal  bed 
is  one  of  the  largest  and  richest  known  to  the  world.  It 
could  supply  the  world  with  fuel  for  hundreds  of  years. 

Another  big  coal  field  is  found  in  Indiana  and  Illinois. 
The  western  parts  of  Kentucky  and  Missouri  have  good 
coal  fields,  and  so  have  the  states  of  Montana,  Washing 
ton,  and  Wyoming.  Colorado  and  Utah  have  also  rich 
deposits  of  coal. 


IN    A    MINE.  215 

Near  Pittsburg  the  coal  vein  is  about  six  feet  thick ;  and 
in  going  along  the  Ohio  River,  and  looking  at  the  banks, 
you  can  see  the  black  bed  of  coal  standing  out  between  the 
rocks  above  and  below. 

Vast  amounts  of  coal  are  shipped  from  Pittsburg  to 
many  parts  of  our  country.  One  railroad  company  has 
fifty  thousand  coal  cars,  and  nine  hundred  locomotives 
which  are  used  for  coal- carry  ing  alone;  another  road  has 
seventy  thousand  cars  ;  and  a  million  people  are  kept  busy 
in  handling  coal.  We  passed  immense  barges  of  coal 
which  came  from  Pittsburg  as  we  rode  up  the  Mississippi ; 
we  saw  coal  going  up  the  Great  Lakes  in  boats  which 
steamed  by  us  as  we  came  down  to  Buffalo ;  and  now  we 
find  the  Ohio  River  at  Pittsburg  almost  filled  with  barges 
ready  to  be  floated  down  to  Cincinnati,  Louisville,  Cairo, 
and  New  Orleans. 

Let  us  take  a  boat  from  Pittsburg,  and  ride  up  the 
Monongahela  River.  The  stream  has  cut  its  course  deep 
down  into  the  earth ;  and  we  can  see  great  black  pits 
showing  out  upon  the  green  walls  of  the  hillsides.  Those 
black  spots  are  the  openings  of  coal  mines,  and  the  little 
villages  below  them,  with  their  smoke-blackened  houses 
running  along  narrow  streets  up  the  sides  of  the  hills,  are 
the  houses  of  the  miners. 

Keep  your  eyes  on  the  black  holes.  See  the  noisy  cars 
coming  out  on  the  run,  drawn  by  mules.  Watch  them  as 
they  are  put  on  the  inclined  railroads  and  rush  down  and 
discharge  their  coal  into  the  barges  below.  For  half  a 
century  they  have  been  taking  coal  out  of  those  hills,  and 
there  are  vast  quantities  left. 

Let  us  go  into  one  of  the  mines.  We  crawl  down 
through  tunnel  after  tunnel,  our  way  being  lighted  by  the 
little  lamps  used  by  the  miners.  The  faces  of  the  men  are 

CARP.    N.   A.M.  —  14 


2l6  THE    COAL    REGIONS. 

as  black  as  the  coal,  and  they  make  us  think  of  ghosts  as  we 
see  them  through  the  dim  light  in  the  distance.  Notice 
how  the  tunnels  are  upheld  by  wood.  The  water  drips 

down  upon  us  as  we 
go  through,  and  we 
walk  along  a  little 
railroad  track  which 
has  been  made  for 
the  coal  cars. 

Look  behind  you! 
Stand     as    close     to 

"There  comes  a  car!" 

the  wall  as  you  can. 

There  comes  a  car!  It  is  hauled  by  a  mule,  which  comes 
on  a  trot,  hurrying  even  faster  as  he  goes  by  us.  We  walk 
for  miles  through  one  tunnel  after  another.  The  tun 
nels  have  been  cut  out  of  the  coal,  and  there  is  only  slate 
and  rock  above  and  below.  Now  and  then  we  stop  in 
rooms  or  chambers  made  by  taking  out  the  coal.  The 
mines  make  us  think  of  a  city,  there  are  so  many  passage 
ways,  which  cross  one  another  like  streets. 

We  can  see  how  dangerous  the  work  of  mining  is.  The 
walls  sometimes  fall  in  and  the  miners  are  crushed.  Some 
times  the  mines  are  flooded,  and  the  miners,  shut  off  by 
the  stopping  up  of  the  tunnels,  are  drowned. 

Another  great  danger  is  from  what  is  known  as  fire 
damp.  There  are  many  gases  in  coal  mines,  and  these  are 
'sometimes  set  on  fire  by  the  candles  or  lamps  of  the 
miners.  This  causes  a  great  explosion.  As  quick  as  a 
stroke  of  lightning,  and  with  a  clap  like  thunder,  a  whirl 
wind  of  flame  goes  through  the  tunnels,  pulling  down  the 
timbers  and  caving  in  the  walls.  The  men  are  blinded, 
scorched,  and  sometimes  burned  to  cinders,  and  hundreds 
are  often  killed  at  one  time. 


IN    A    MINE. 


21/ 


Our  miners  have  a  dangerous  and  difficult  occupation. 
They  are,  however,  much  better  off  than  the  miners  of 
other  countries.  Their  work  is  easier  and  their  wages 
higher.  In  England  the  coal  veins  are  so  thin  that  much 
of  the  digging  out  of  the  coal  has  to  be  done  by  men  lying 
on  their  sides;  and  in  Belgium  the  coal  cars  are  often 
pulled  by  men  and  women.  Children  are  rarely  employed 
in  the  American  mines;  but  less  than  a  generation  ago 
little  boys  and  girls  were  used  to  haul  coal  cars  in  the 
mines  of  England  and  Scotland.  They  were  harnessed  to 


Coal  Miners  at  Work. 

the  cars  by  chains  fastened  to  belts  about  their  waists,  and 
they  crawled  along  through  the  low  tunnels  on  all  fours, 
dragging  the  coal  to  the  surface. 

Mining  is  now  going  on  all  through  this  great  Appa 
lachian  coal  field.      Cities  have  been  built  up  by  means 


218  PITTSBURG. 

of  the  cheap  fuel,  and  a  wonderful  growth  in  manu 
facturing  is  being  made  by  this  means.  This  is  especially 
so  at  the  southern  end  of  the  coal  beds.  Valuable  deposits 
of  iron  are  found  to  lie  there  very  close  to  the  coal,  and 
the  region  about  Birmingham,  Alabama,  promises  some 
day  to  rival  Pittsburg  as  an  iron-  and  steel-making  center. 
Nashville  and  Chattanooga,  in  Tennessee,  are  other  cities 
which  are  rapidly  growing  on  account  of  the  abundance  of 
cheap  iron  and  coal. 


XXIX.     PITTSBURG    AND     ITS     IRON    WORKS. 

SOME  of  the  most  interesting  sights  about  Pittsburg 
are  to  be  seen  after  dark.  The  great  iron  mills  are 
kept  running  all  night  long,  and  out  of  their  huge  chim 
neys  flow  raging  flames,- mixed  with  smoke.  If  we  take 
the  inclined  railway  and  go  to  the  top  of  the  hills  about 
the  city,  we  shall  see  such  fires  in  every  direction  ;  and  in 
traveling  at  night  over  some  of  the  railroads  coming  to 
Pittsburg,  we  ride  long  distances  by  what  seem  to  be 
mounds  of  blazing  fire.  These  are  the  coke  ovens,  in 
which  the  coal  is  roasted  or  baked  before  it  is  used  for 
smelting  iron. 

It  seems  funny  to  think  of.  roasting  coal,  does  it  not? 

Yes ;  but  the  coal  must  be  purified  before  it  is  good  for 
smelting,  and  it  is  this  roasting  that  purifies  it.  By  a 
short  ride  on  the  railroad  we  reach  Connellsville,  and  see 
how  the  coking  is  done.  Our  train  takes  us  by  thousands 
of  coking  ovens.  The  ovens  are  moundlike  affairs  of 
brick  and  stone,  built  much  in  the  shape  of  an  old-fash 
ioned  beehive,  save  that  they  are  connected,  and  that  each 


BURNING   COKE. 


219 


Coke  Ovens. 

oven  is  almost  as  large  as  a  gas  tank.  Each  has  a  lit 
tle  door  at  the  side,  and  a  hole  in  the  top  to  let  out  the 
smoke. 

When  the  ovens  are  filled  with  coal,  the  doors  are  walled 
up  with  fire  brick.  When  the  oven  is  first  started  the  coal 
is  lighted  by  means  of  wood,  just  as  a  coal  fire  is  lighted ; 
but  after  a  while  the  oven  becomes  so  hot  that  the  heat 
from  the  last  charge  fires  the  next.  After  half  an  hour  a 
pale-blue  smoke  comes  out  of  the  top ;  a  little  later  on  it 
grows  darker ;  and  in  less  than  an  hour  there  is  a  puff  like 
powder,  which  shows  you  the  coal  has  been  lit.  The  coal 
is  allowed  to  burn  for  about  seventy-two  hours. 

There  is  an  oven  burning.      Look  into  it.      It  is  a  mass 


22O  PITTSBURG. 

of  red-hot  coals.  The  heat  is  intense,  but  the  coal  burns 
so  slowly  that  it  does  not  go  to  ashes,  and  in  seventy-two 
hours  the  impurities  have  gone  out  of  it.  It  will  now  be 
cooled  by  pouring  cold  water  in  at  the  top,  after  which 
it  will  be  dragged  out  with  a  great  iron  rake,  and  loaded 
up  on  the  cars  for  the  furnaces. 

Let  us  jump  on  that  car  of  coke,  and  go  with  it  to  Pitts- 
burg,  and  learn  how  iron  is  made. 

We  find  that  a  number  of  'processes  must  be  gone 
through  before  the  iron  ore,  as  we  saw  it  in  the  mines,  can 
be  used  for  machinery.  We  have  already  learned  that 
there  is  no  such  tiling  as  pure  iron  in  nature  ;  and  that 
iron  as  it  is  found  in  the  earth  is  always  mixed  with  rock 
and  other  minerals.  It  is  by  smelting  that  these  are  taken 
out  and  the  iron  left  in  the  shape  that  we  use  it. 

One  of  the  chief  places  for  doing  this  thing  is  Pittsburg. 
The  blast  furnaces  in  which  the  smelting  is  done  are  about 
as  tall  as  a  six-story  house.  They  are  immense  round  iron 
pipes  or  tubes.  Into  them  is  poured,  first  a  layer  of  iron 
ore,  then  a  layer  of  coke,  and  then  a  layer  of  limestone. 
Then  there  are  other  layers  of  iron  ore,  coke,  and  lime 
stone,  until  the  great  furnace  is  filled.  Limestone,  as  well 
as  coke,  is  required  to  produce  the  change  from  iron  ore 
to  iron. 

Now  the  furnace  is  ready  for  the  fire.  But  no  ordinary 
fire  would  melt  iron  ore.  The  heat  is  increased  by  means 
of  a  draught  until  it  becomes  so  intense  that  the  coke, 
limestone,  and  ore  melt  together  like  sugar  under  it. 
After  a  short  time  the  whole  is  one  molten  mass,  and  the 
iron  is  ready  to  be  drawn  out. 

Let  us  stand  at  one  of  the  furnaces  and  see  how  this  is 
done.  At  the  bottom  of  the  furnace  there  is  a  hole,  which 
is  stopped  up  until  the  mixture  is  melted.  Now  it  is 


PIG    IRON. 


221 


A  Blast  Furnace. 

opened.  See  the  golden  stream  flow  forth.  It  flows  out 
like  a  little  river  into  a  ditch  or  trough  of  sand. 

The  slag  or  impurities  of  the  iron  are  on  top.  They  are 
lighter  than  the  iron,  and  they  rise  just  as  wood  rises  to 
the  top  of  water.  When  the  stream  gets  about  twenty 
feet  away  from  the  furnace  there  is  a  little  dam,  which 
makes  the  top  scum  flow  off  to  one  side,  and  allows  the 
iron  to  flow  out  below  through  a  hole  under  the  dam  along 
another  little  canal  in  the  sand. 

The  iron  is  now  of  a  yellow  color.  It  has  lost  the  cop 
per  tinge  which  it  had  when  it  came  from  the  furnace.  It 
runs  off  in  golden  streams  into  a  bed  of  sand  in  which  lit 
tle  holes  have  been  molded,  so  that  the  bed  looks  for  all 
the  world  like  a  garden  ready  for  planting.  The  holes  are 
about  the  size  and  shape  of  what  is  known  as  an  iron  pig, 


222 


PITTSBURG. 


Making  Fig  Iron. 

which  is  a  piece  of  metal  about  as  big  as  a  stick  of  stove 
wood.  The  yellow  stream  flows  into  them,  and  the  garden 
is  soon  full  of  these  bright  yellow  pigs,  which  turn  to  a 
darker  tint  as  they  cool,  and  then  change  to  the  gray  of 
cold  pig  iron. 

Let  us  go  a  little  nearer  the  garden.  We  can  see  the 
heat  waves  dancing  over  the  hot  iron,  and  we  hold  our 
hats  before  our  faces  to  keep  from  being  scorched.  Still 
the  furnace  men  move  about,  turning  the  fiery  stream  this 
way  and  that,  and  making  it  reach  every  part  of  the  gar 
den.  Some  of  them  are  bare  to  the  waist,  and  beads  of 
sweat  stand  out  like  pearls  on  their  white  skins.  They 
drink  great  quantities  of  water,  and  perspire  freely,  for  if 
they  did  not  perspire  the  heat  is  so  great  that  they  would 
be  overcome  by  it  and  die. 


DOWN    THE    OHIO.  223 

When  the  iron  grows  cold,  the  pigs  are  dragged  out  of 
the  sand  and  piled  up,  ready  to  be  shipped  to  different 
parts  of  the  country,  or  for  use  at  home  for  the  making  of 
steel  and  all  kinds  of  iron  manufactures. 

The  slag  goes  to  waste.  It  is  poured  out  into  a  big 
iron  pot  fastened  on  car  wheels.  When  this  pot  is  filled 
with  the  fiery,  boiling  slag,  men  pull  it  over  a  railroad 
track  some  distance  away,  and  empty  it  out  upon  the 
slag  heap. 

All  iron  ore  has  to  be  turned  into  pig  iron  before  it  can 
be  used  for  manufacturing.  Pittsburg  has  become  a  great 
city  largely  from  its  manufacture  of  pig  iron  and  steel. 
We  learn  that  we  are  now  making  more  pig  iron  and  steel 
than  any  other  country  in  the  world,  and  that  our  product 
is  rapidly  increasing. 

We  spend  some  days  at  Pittsburg,  visiting  the  foundries 
and  studying  the  wonderful  processes  of  turning  iron  into 
steel.  We  see  men  making  the  steel  rails  for  the  railroads, 
watch  them  manufacturing  the  thick  armor  plate  of  steel 
which  is  to  be  used  to  protect  the  hulls  of  our  war  ves 
sels  from  the  cannon  of  the  enemy,  and  observe  the 
countless  other  things  which  are  here  turned  out  of  iron 
and  steel. 

At  Pittsburg  we  are  at  the  head  of  navigation  of  the 
Ohio  River.  Here  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela  rivers 
unite,  forming  the  broad  Ohio,  which  flows  for  nine  hun 
dred  and  seventy-five  miles  to  the  southwest,  until  its 
waters  mix  with  those  of  the  upper  Mississippi  and  go 
onward  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  This  makes  a  splendid 
waterway  through  the  Ohio  Valley,  one  of  the  most  fertile 
parts  of  the  whole  Mississippi  system. 

We  can  get  steamers  almost  any  day  to  go  down  the 
Ohio.  The  river  is  quite  as  full  of  shipping  as  the  Mis- 


224 


PITTSBURG. 


sissippi.  There  are  fewer  lumber  rafts,  but  a  great  many 
more  boats  loaded  with  coal.  The  country  is  much  more 
hilly  than  that  through  which  we  traveled  on  our  way  up 
from  New  Orleans.  We  notice  that  the  farms  along  the 
banks  are  much  smaller  and  better  cultivated,  and  that 
there  are  more  cities  and  towns. 

We  sail  by  town  after  town,  above  which  rise  the  smoke 
stacks  of  iron,  steel,  glass,  and  other  factories.  At  Steu- 
benville  and  East  Liverpool  we  see  men  making  beautiful 
china  and  pottery  ware,  and  farther  south,  at  Wheeling 
and  Bellaire,  we  visit  factories  in  which  glass  bottles  and 
nails  are  made  in  vast  quantities.  There  are  other  fac 
tories  of  various  kinds  here  and  at  other  points  farther 
south,  and  we  learn  that  almost  everv  citv  of  this  middle 


Cincinnati  Music  Hall. 


FROM    CINCINNATI    TO    CHICAGO.  225 

section  north  of  the  Ohio  has  factories  of  one  kind  or 
another. 

We  float  farther  down  the  river  to  Cincinnati.  Here 
there  are  so  many  factories  and  foundries  that  the  city  al 
most  rivals  Pittsburg.  Cincinnati  has  about  eight  thousand 
manufacturing  establishments,  in  which  about  one  hundred 
thousand  hands  are  employed.  It  has  many  railroads,  and 
its  location  on  the  Ohio  and  at  the  southern  end  of  the 
Miami  Canal,  which  connects  it  with  Lake  Erie,  gives  it 
fine  facilities  for  transportation  by  water. 

We  visit  the  beautiful  residence  section  on  the  hills,  some 
distance  back  from  the  river,  take  a  walk  into  Kentucky 
across  the  suspension  bridge  which  has  been  here  built 
over  the  Ohio,  and  then,  going  back  to  our  boat,  sail  on 
down  the  river  to  Louisville.  Here  we  visit  the  great  to 
bacco  markets  and  tobacco  factories  for  which  the  city  is 
noted.  Louisville  is  situated  at  the  upper  end  of  the  Falls 
of  the  Ohio,  but  a  canal  has  been  built  around  the  falls  so 
that  we  might  continue  our  boat  ride  on  the  Ohio  down  into 
the  Mississippi ;  but  we  decide  to  go  northward  instead. 
Three  hours  by  rail  lands  us  in  the  thriving  railroad,  com 
mercial,  and  manufacturing  city  of  Indianapolis,  the  capital 
of  Indiana.  Here  we  spend  a  few  hours,  and  then  take  the 
cars  for  Chicago. 


XXX.  *  THE    GREATEST    LAKE    PORT    IN    THE 
WORLD. 

CHICAGO,  at  the  head  of  Lake  Michigan,  is  now  the 
second  city  of  the  United  States.      It  has  a  popula 
tion  of  about  two  millions,  and  people  who  live  there  think 
it  will  soon  be  greater  than  New  York  and  that  it  may  in 


226 


CHICAGO. 


course  of  time  surpass  London.  Indeed,  Chicago  grows 
so  fast  that  if  you  would  know  exactly  how  many  people 
it  has  you  would  have  to  take  a  new  census  every  month. 
It  is  not  an  old  city.  It  was  founded  about  1830,  starting 
with  a  few  huts  in  a  swamp.  Seven  years  later  it  had  four 
thousand  people,  and  its  inhabitants  called  it  a  city.  The 
idea  of  there  being  a  city  in  such  a  place  seemed  ridicu 
lous  indeed  to  many,  and  the  other  cities  of  the  United 
States  laughed  at  the  conceit  of  little  Chicago. 

The  Chicagoans,  however,  went  bravely  on,  and  in 
twenty  years  its  population  had  risen  to  ninety  thousand. 
The  citizens  then  began  to  show  the  great  enterprise  and 


Lake  Front,  Chicago. 


push  for  which  they  have  always  been  noted.      The  ground 
was  so  swampy  that  no  cellars  could  be  dug  on  account 


THE    GREAT    FIRE.  227 

of  the  water.  They  decided  to  lift  the  city  up  above  the 
swamps  and  give  it  a  solid  foundation.  So  the  people 
propped  the  houses  up  on  stilts ;  they  brought  in  ground 
from  the  surrounding  country,  and  raised  the  streets  at 
least  ten  feet,  elevating,  as  it  were,  the  whole  city. 

Was  not  that  a  wonderful  feat? 

Yes ;  but  this  was  only  the  beginning  of  Chicago's  en 
terprise.  The  city  has  gone  on  doing  wonders  in  the  way 
of  improvements  from  that  day  to  this.  It  is  now  one  of 
the  best  built  and  most  beautiful  cities  of  our  land.  Its 
people  are  still  noted  for  their  energy.  They  are  said  to 
work  faster  and  do  more  than  the  people  of  any  other  city 
in  the  world.  Every  one  is  in  a  hurry,  and  the  bustle 
of  Chicago  is  greater  than  that  of  New  York. 

Have  you  ever  heard  of  the  great  Chicago  fire,  which 
burned  the  city  to  the  ground  in  1871?  Chicago  then 
contained  three  hundred  thousand  inhabitants.  It  wras, 
like  all  new  cities,  made  up  of  fine  buildings  of  stone  and 
brick,  stores  and  houses  of  wood,  and  rickety  shanties,  all 
mixed  together.  Then,  one  windy  night,  Mrs.  O'Leary, 
an  Irishwoman  living  in  the  city,  went  to  the  stable  to 
milk  her  cow.  It  was  dark,  and  she  took  a  lamp  with  her. 
The  cow  kicked  over  the  lamp,  and  started  the  blaze  which 
burned  the  business  part  of  the  city  to  the  ground,  and  de 
stroyed  millions  upon  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  property. 
The  kick  was  a  very  expensive  one,  but  it  was  a  good  thing 
for  Chicago,  after  all. 

The  people  did  not  wait  until  the  bricks  of  the  burning 
city  were  cold  before  they  began  to  rebuild,  and  the 
houses  which  they  then  erected  were  put  up  to  stay. 
Even  New  York  has  not  more  substantial  buildings  than 
the  best  business  blocks  of  Chicago.  They  are  huge  stone 
and  brick  structures  from  ten  to  twenty  stories  high,  and 


228  CHICAGO. 

as  far  as  possible  fireproof.  The  insides  of  these  buildings 
are  made  of  steel.  The  steel  framewgrk  is  entirely  inde 
pendent  of  the  walls,  and  the  business  part  of  Chicago  is, 
in  fact,  a  city  of  iron  buildings  incased  in  walls  of  stone. 

But  how  can  they  build  such  heavy  structures  in  a 
swamp?  The  people  failed  many  times  before  they  suc 
ceeded  in  getting  good  foundations.  At  first  great  tree 
trunks,  or  piles,  were  driven  down  into  the  ground,  and 
the  buildings  were  constructed  upon  them,  as  is  done  in 
the  cities  of  Holland.  But  it  was  found  that  the  big  build 
ings  settled  unevenly,  and  the  people  feared  they  would 
topple  over  and  fall. 

Then  some  one  solved  the  problem  by  making  a  foun 
dation  of  steel  and  concrete.  The  surface  to  be  built  upon 
was  first  covered  with  rails  of  steel  such  as  are  used  for 
railroad  tracks.  These  were  placed  side  by  side,  and  in 
the  spaces  between  them  a  mixture  of  cement  and  sand 
called  concrete  was  laid.  The  concrete  hardened  almost 
as  soon  as  it  was  put  down.  Then  another  layer  of  rails 
was  placed  crosswise  on  top  of  the  first,  and  concrete  was 
spread  upon  it.  A  third  layer  followed,  and  so  on  until 
the  builders  thought  the  structure  would  support  the  great 
weight  of  the  building  which  was  to  rest  upon  it. 

Chicago  is  the  greatest  lake  port  in  the  world.  Its 
growth  is  due  to  its  situation  at  the  head  of  Lake  Michigan. 
It  is  at  just  the  point  where  goods  can  most  easily  be 
shipped  to  and  from  all  parts  of  the  Mississippi  River  and 
its  tributaries,  and  where  it  can  distribute  the  grain  and 
other  products  which  come  from  the  West. 

The  plains  about  Chicago  are  very  rich.  The  vast  coal 
fields  of  the  central  part  of  our  country  are  just  south  of 
it,  and  it  is  within  easy  reach  of  the  Appalachian  coal 
mines;  iron  can  be  cheaply  brought  from  Lake  Superior 


THE    STOCK   YARDS.  229 

down  through  Lake  Michigan ;  and  all  around  and  about 
it  are  the  wheat  lands  and  the  enormous  cornfields  of  the 
United  States.  The  result  is  that  here  has  grown  up  one 
of  the  greatest  commercial  and  manufacturing  cities  of  the 
world. 

We  see  the  smoke  of  its  factories  as  we  near  the  city, 
and  as  we  enter  it  we  pass  through  shady  suburban  vil 
lages,  out  of  which  rise  manufacturing  works  of  all  kinds. 
There  are  enormous  steel  foundries,  there  are  iron  works, 
and  there  are  immense  shops  in  which  all  kinds  of  wood 
working  goes  on.  Chicago  is  the  largest  lumber  market 
in  the  world,  and  it  makes  all  kinds  of  planed  lumber  and 
such  things  as  window  sashes  and  doors.  It  turns  out  a 
vast  amount  of  furniture,  and,  indeed,  of  almost  everything 
into  which  wood  can  be  made. 

At  Pullman,  one  of  the  suburbs,  there  is  a  little  city 
where  people  do  nothing  else  but  make  cars  of  all  kinds, 
from  box  cars  for  freight  to  the  elegant  sleeping  coaches 
in  which  we  have  been  riding  over  the  country.  Chicago 
has  mighty  elevators  and  great  flouring  mills,  and  it  is 
noted  for  its  stock  yards,  filled  with  thousands  of  animals 
that  are  shipped  here  to  be  killed  and  manufactured  into 
meat  products  for  all  parts  of  the  world. 

The  stock  yards  are  one  of  the  most  interesting  sights 
in  the  United  States.  Chicago  is  the  chief  meat-packing 
center  of  the  world.  Almost  one  third  of  all  the  meat 
provision  business  west  of  the  Alleghanies  is  done  here. 
Day  and  night,  and  every  hour  of  the  day,  cars  start  out 
from  Chicago,  carrying  beef,  pork,  and  mutton  to  all  parts 
of  the  United  States  and  to  Europe ;  and  the  cattle  which 
we  see  this  morning  will  a  few  days  later  be  on  the  break 
fast  tables  of  the  people  of  New  York,  Washington,  and 
other  cities  and  towns. 


230 


CHICAGO. 


The  Stock  Yards. 


But  let  us  take  a  look  at  the  stock  yards.  They  are 
located  almost  in  the  center  of  Chicago,  although  they  are 
quite  far  off  from  the  business  part  of  the  city.  We  can 
go  to  them  on  the  street  cars  for  five  cents. 

As  we  approach  the  yards  we  hear  the  lowing  of  cows, 
the  grunting  of  thousands  of  hogs,  and  the  bleating  of  vast 
numbers  of  sheep.  At  times  there  are  several  hundred 
thousand  animals  in  the  yards,  and  the  stock  is  changed 
every  day.  In  a  single  year  many  millions  of  sheep,  hogs, 
and  cattle  pass  through  these  pens. 

The  stock  yards  make  us  think  of  a  city — a  city  of  ani 
mals  within  a  city  of  men.  Railroad  tracks  lead  to  it, 
there  are  great  factories  about  it,  and  the  houses  of  the 
city  of  animals  are  merely  covered  and  uncovered  pens. 


THE    STOCK    YARDS.  231 

The  pens  are  arranged  along  streets  which  cross  one  an 
other  at  right  angles.  There  are  sections  and  wards,  and 
each  section  has  its  own  kind  of  animals.  Here  is  one 
which  is  devoted  to  cattle,  the  pens  each  holding  from 
two  to  three  hundred  cows.  Many  of  the  pens  have  no 
roofs,  and  we  can  see  the  cows  through  the  boards. 
There  is  a  ward  filled  with  sheep.  There  are  enough 
little  lambs  there  to  supply  all  the  Marys  in  our  town. 
How  the  white,  woolly  creatures  bleat  and  baa  as  we 
go  by  them!  There  is  the  hog  ward,  containing  tens  of 
thousands  of  grunters. 

Look  into  the  pens.  Each  of  them  has  a  long  trough 
for  water,  and  another  for  food.  There  are  twenty-five 
miles  of  these  water  troughs  in  the  city,  and  the  feeding 
troughs,  if  put  end  to  end,  would  reach  fifty  miles.  The 
water  comes  from  artesian  wells  which  have  been  sunk 
twelve  hundred  feet  down  into  the  ground,  and  which 
gather  their  water  supplies  from  below  the  bed  of  Lake 
Michigan.  Through  the  streets  of  this  animal  city  there 
are  railroad  tracks  for  the  cars  which  bring  in  the  animals 
and  take  them  off  to  be  slaughtered.  There  is  a  canal  at 
one  side  of  the  yard,  upon  which  are  boats  for  carrying 
animals  from  and  to  the  lake. 

But  what  are  those  immense  buildings  in  the  center  of 
this  city  of  animals?  That  is  the  Exchange  Hall,  where 
the  rulers  of  the  city  live,  and  where  men  come  to  buy 
and  sell  the  four-footed  citizens.  The  officials  are  tyrants. 
They  are  the  most  bloodthirsty  rulers  any  city  ever  knew. 
They  fill  the  yards  with  new  animals  day  after  day,  only 
to  kill  them  ;  and  those  great  buildings  which  surround  the 
yards  are  the  slaughterhouses  or  meat-packing  establish 
ments,  in  which  the  beeves,  hogs,  and  sheep  are  turned  into 
food  and  other  things  for  the  use  of  man. 

CARP.   X.   A.M.  — 15 


232 


CHlCAr.O. 


Let  us  visit  the  packing  houses.  They  are  more  like 
great  factories  than  the  slaughterhouses  of  our  villages. 
We  follow  the  hogs.  They  go  in  alive  at  one  end,  and 
never  stop  until  they  come  out  at  the  other  in  the  shape 
of  hams,  bacon,  sausage,  lard,  buttons,  and  hairbrushes. 
We  find  that  every  part  of  each  animal  is  saved,  and  the 


Interior  of  a  Packing  House. 

butchers  tell  us  that  they  can  sell,  in  some  shape  or  other, 
every  bit  of  the  hog  but  his  squeal.  It  is  the  same  with 
other  animals,  and  scarcely  an  atom  of  a  cow,  sheep,  or 
pig  goes  to  waste. 

Even  the  bones  of  the  animals  are  sorted,  and  manufac 
tured  into  various  articles.  The  skull  bones,  the  jawbones, 
and  the  teeth  are  used  by  bone  burners  and  bone  grinders  ; 


BUSINESS    AND    PLEASURE.  233 

the  hip  bones,  horns,  and  shoulder  bones  are  turned  into 
hairpins,  ladies'  combs,  and  buttons;  and  the  bones  of 
the  thigh  are  used  for  the  handles  of  toothbrushes.  The 
bones  are  cooked  before  they  are  sold,  in  order  that  the 
marrow  and  juice  may  be  gotten  out  of  them  for  making 
glue.  The  hoofs  are  also  used  for  making  glue  and  grease. 

The  blood  is  sold  as  a  fertilizer.  The  hides  go  to  the 
tanners,  the  wool  being  pulled  from  the  sheepskins,  and 
the  skins  afterwards  used  for  making  gloves.  The  bristles 
of  the  hog  are  made  into  brushes. 

The  brains  are  used  for  food.  Some  parts  of  the  beef 
are  made  into  medicines,  beef  extracts,  and  beef  tonics. 
Other  parts  are,  canned  and  turned  into  soups,  and  out  of 
the  refuse  come  candles,  soap,  and  a  variety  of  other  things. 

We  might  spend  weeks  in  Chicago  and  not  see  all  its 
wonders.  We  get  some  idea  of  the  city  by  visiting 
the  vast  business  houses  on  State  Street  and  Wabash 
Avenue,  or  in  going  along  La  Salle  Street  and  through 
the  busy  thoroughfares  which  were  named  after  Presidents 
Washington,  Madison,  Jefferson,  and  Adams.  We  do 
not  wonder  that  Chicago  people  are  proud  of  their  city  ; 
and  our  guide  tells  us.  how  even  the  children  boast  of 
the  town,  and  how  one  Chicago  boy,  not  long  ago, 
walking  upon  these  same  streets,  asked  his  papa  how  it 
came  that  all  the  Presidents  of  the  United  States  had 
been  named  after  the  streets  of  Chicago. 

Chicago  is  a  delightful  place  for  children.  Lake  Michi 
gan  is  full  of  fish  which  are  said  to  be  not  only  willing,  but 
anxious,  to  be  caught.  The  entire  lake  front  of  the  city, 
for  a  distance  of  about  twenty  miles,  is  protected  by  a  line 
of  breakwater,  over  which,  in  the  fishing  season,  thousands 
of  boys  and  sometimes  women  and  girls  may  be  seen  with 
rods  and  lines  trying  to  catch  fish. 


234 


CHICAGO. 


Then  there  are  boat   rides  on   the  lakes,  and  there  is 
bicycling  on   the   boulevards,  which   are  as  smooth   as  a 


On  the  Boulevard,  Chicago. 

floor.  Chicago  has  a  wonderful  system  of  parks,  in  one 
of  which  an  electrical  fountain  plays  for  three  evenings 
every  week.  It  has  many  public  libraries,  fine  museums, 
and  one  of  the  largest  universities  of  the  United  States. 

Leaving  Chicago,  we  cross  the  lake  to  Milwaukee,  Wis 
consin,  an  important  railroad,  commercial,  and  manufactur 
ing  center.  It  is  a  beautiful  city,  noted  especially  for  its 
flour  mills,  its  large  breweries,  and  its  factories  which  make 
cream  colored  brick.  We  spend  some  time  there,  and  then 
take  the  cars  for  our  long  journey  across  the  plains  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 


THE    WONDERLAND    OF   AMERICA.  235 


XXXI.     THE    WONDERS    AND   TREASURES    OF 
THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    REGION. 

THE  Rocky  Mountains  form  what  might  be  called  the 
roof  of  the  North  American  continent.  As  we  travel 
westward  from  Chicago,  we  soon  reach  the  Mississippi  River 
in  the  midst  of  the  wheat  and  corn  regions,  and  then  for 
one  thousand  miles  we  rise  steadily  upward,  as  we  cross 
the  great  plains,  before  we  come  to  the  foot  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  at  Denver.  Denver,  although  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountains,  is  higher  than  the  top  of  Mount  Washing 
ton.  The  summit  of  Pikes  Peak,  which  we  see  as  we  near 
the  end  of  our  railroad  ride,  is  almost  two  miles  higher 
than  Denver,  and  nearly  three  miles  above  the  level  of 
Washington,  New  York,  or  New  Orleans. 

Pikes  Peak  is  one  of  the  highest  of  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains.  It  was  named  after  Major  Zebulon  Pike,  who  tried 
to  climb  it  more  than  ninety  years  ago,  but  was  obliged 
to  turn  back,  sadly  remarking  that  nothing  but  a  bird 
could  reach  its  snowy  summit. 

But  \ve  shall  reach  the  top  of  Pikes  Peak,  and  we  shall 
ride  there  at  our  ease  in  the  cars.  A  railroad  has  been 
built  up  this  mighty  mountain.  The  road  is  much  like 
that  over  which  we  traveled  to  the  top  of  Mount  Wash 
ington.  The  little  steam  engine  pushes  us  up,  up,  up, 
until  we  at  last  step  out  of  the  car  at  a  height  of  almost 
three  miles  above  the  sea.  Near  the  top,  patches  of  snow 
usually  may  be  found  even  in  summer. 

As  we  stand  upon  it,  we  see  the  wonderful  panorama 
of  the  mountains  and  valleys.  Stretching  to  the  eastward 
are  the  great  plains,  dotted  with  villages  and  cities,  through 
which  we  have  just  passed.  They  are  merely  specks  on 


THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN     KKCiiON. 


The  Garden  of  the  Gods. 

the  landscape.  The  Garden  of  the  Gods  at  our  feet,  which 
is  really  a  valley  filled  with  vast  rock  formations,  looks 
like  a  flower  bed.  To  the  west,  as  far  as  we  can  see,  rise 
hill  upon  hill  and  mountain  upon  mountain,  and  these  in 
most  places  look  like  piles  of  rocks  of  gigantic  size,  thrown 
together  in  all  sorts  of  shapes. 

As  we  stand  here,  the  clouds  float  about  below  us. 
Now  they  sweep  upward,  and  for  a  time  we  are  enveloped 
in  mist.  Now  there  is  a  thunderstorm  far  down  the 
mountain  side.  The  lightning  seems  to  flash  against  the 
rocks,  and  we  can  hear  the  deep  roll  of  the  thunder  as 
the  clouds  burst  in  the  mountains. 

The  region  of  the  Rockies  is  the  wonderland  of  America. 
There  is  no  other  place  in  the  world  where  one  can  see 
so  many  marvelous  things.  We  shall  there  find  waterfalls 
higher  than  Niagara,  deserts  almost  as  dry  and  dreary  as 
the  Sahara  in  Africa,  great  forests  of  trees  which  have  been 


THE  WONDERLAND  OF  AMERICA. 


237 


turned  into  stone,  and  other  forests  whose  trees  are  so  big 
that  you  could  cut  out  a  very  large  schoolroom  inside  of 
one  of  their  trunks,  and  have  room  to  spare. 

In  the  northern  part  of  this  great  mountain  region,  in 
Alaska,  there  are  glaciers  far  more  wonderful  than  those 
of  the  Alps;  and  in  the  southern  part  are  the  mighty 
volcanoes  of  Mexico,  which  vomit  forth  lava,  sulphur, 
and  red-hot  stones. 

Within  a  radius  of  five  hundred  miles  of  Pikes  Peak  lie 
three  of  the  greatest  of  the  natural  wonders  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  If  we  travel  to  the  northwest,  we  shall  find 


Scene  in  Yellowstone  Park. 

ourselves  amid  the  hot  springs  and  geysers  of  the  Yellow 
stone  Park;  almost  directly  west,  and  at  about  the  same 
distance,  is  found  the  Dead  Sea  of  America,  the  Great 
Salt  Lake  of  Utah  ;  and  farther  south  is  the  Grand  Canyon 
of  the  Colorado,  the  most  wonderful  river  bed  knowrn  to 
man. 


238 


THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    REGION 


The  Colorado  River  comes  from  the  snow  regions  of  the 
mountain  peaks.  It  burrows  its  way,  as  it  were,  down 
through  the  high  plains,  cutting  out  a  trough,  or  gorge, 

which  is  in  one 
place  more  than 
a  mile  deep,  until 
it  at  last  flows 
into  the  Gulf  of 
California. 

The  Colorado 
River  is  in  places  a 
mad,  raging  tor 
rent.  It  has  numer 
ous  falls  and  many 
rapids,  and  the 
scenery  about  it  is 
wonderful  beyond 
description.  The 
great  walls  of  rock 
upon  each  side  of 
it  are  colored  in  the 
highest  tints  of  red, 
yellow,  gray,  and 
chocolate ;  and  they  rise  in  such  shapes  that  as  you  float 
down  its  boiling  current  you  seem  to  be  passing  by  great 
cities,  dashing  under  mighty  forts,  and  flying  by  immense 
cathedrals.  The  cliffs  above  you  are  a  mile  high.  At 
times  the  clouds  gather  over  the  top  of  the  gorge,  and  you 
float  along  in  darkness.  Then  the  clouds  break,  and  the 
clear  blue  sky  shows  through. 

The  region  about  the  Colorado  River  contains  much 
desert  land,  where  there  are  many  rocks,  but  little  vegeta 
tion  except  sagebrush  and  cactus.  This  is  the  character  of 


The  Grand  Canyon. 


TREASURE    VAULTS    OF    THE    ROCKIES.  239 

a  great  part  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Region.  We  find 
rocks  of  all  kinds  piled  together  in  cliffs  thousands  of  feet 
high,  or  cut  down  into  canyons  thousands  of  feet  deep. 
There  are  hills  of  rock,  mountains  of  rock,  valleys  which 
are  rocky  deserts,  and  rocky  plateaus  upon  which  we 
might  travel  for  several  days  without  finding  water. 

This  is  all  very  wonderful,  is  it  not? 

Yes;  but  after  a  while,  when  we  visit  the  Yellowstone 
Park,  we  shall  find  something  much  more  wonderful. 

We  shall  see  strange  things  almost  everywhere  above 
ground  in  this  curious  region,  and  by  going  down  into 
the  earth  may  visit  gold  and  silver  mines  such  as  can  be 
found  nowhere  else  in  the  world.  You  may  have  read  in 
the  "  Arabian  Nights  "  about  the  cave  of  Aladdin,  which 
was  filled  with  gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones.  That 
cave  existed  only  in  the  mind  of  the  man  who  wrote  the 
story.  The  treasure  vaults  we  are  to  visit  to-day  are  real 
treasure  vaults. 

From  their  beginning  about  the  Yukon  River  in  Alaska, 
down  through  the  western  part  of  the  North  Ameri 
can  continent  to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  these  wonderful 
mountains  contain  veins  and  beds  of  gold  and  silver.  Not 
far  from  Pikes  Peak,  rocks  are  sometimes  dug  up  which 
are  so  full  of  gold  that  if  you  roast  them  the  precious 
metal  will  bubble  out  and  stand  up  like  little  golden  pin- 
heads  upon  the  dark  stone.  About  Leadville,  in  Colorado, 
gold  is  found  in  one  mine  in  the  form  of  thin  sheets  and 
plates,  squeezed  in  between  the  rocks ;  and  in  the  Sierra 
Nevada  there  are  vast  bodies  of  white  quartz  with  little 
veins  of  gold  running  through  them.  The  gold  is  some 
times  so  mixed  with  the  rock  that  it  has  to  be  ground  to 
powder  and  chemically  treated  before  it  can  be  gotten  out, 
and  the  rock  itself  is  often  melted  to  extract  the  gold. 


240  THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    REGION. 

The  first  gold  found  in  the  West  was  that  taken  from 
the  rivers.  The  sand  of  many  of  the  mountain  streams 
is  mixed  with  gold  dust,  or  grains  and  lumps  of  gold.  In 
1848  James  Marshall,  while  digging  a  race  for  a  saw 
mill  on  the  banks  of  the  American  River  in  California, 
found  some  bits  of  yellow  metal  which  turned  out  to  be 
gold.  The  news  spread,  and  within  nine  months  from  that 
time  there  were  thousands  of  miners  washing  the  dirt  along 
the  banks  of  the  California  rivers.  In  less  than  a  year 
more  than  five  million  dollars'  worth  of  gold  had  been  dug 
up ;  and  within  four  years  more  than  two  hundred  million 
dollars'  worth  had  been  washed  out  of  the  streams  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada.  Men  from  all  parts  of  the  world  rushed 
to  California. 

Then  gold  was  found  in  the  mountains  farther  to  the 
eastward  ;  and  it  is  now  known  that  there  are  gold  and  sil 
ver  in  every  one  of  the  states  and  territories  of  this  region. 
Since  that  time  more  than  two  billion  dollars'  worth  of 
gold,  and  more  than  one  billion  dollars'  worth  of  silver, 
have  been  dug  out  of  the  Rockies.  Hundreds  of  towns 
have  sprung  up  to  accommodate  the  miners,  and  the  great 
cities  of  Denver  and  San  Francisco  were  largely  built  by 
such  means. 

After  a  short  time  the  miners  were  not  satisfied  with 
washing  out  the  gold  in  pans  and  in  little  troughs,  or 
cradles.  They  conducted  the  streams  from  the  mountains 
to  the  mines  and  sent  great  streams  of  water  through  hose 
against  the  sides  of  the  mountains  to  wash  down  the  gold- 
bearing  gravels.  This  is  called  hydraulic  mining.  They 
built  flumes,  or  troughs,  into  which  they  turned  the  moun 
tain  streams.  On  the  bottoms  of  the  troughs,  sticks  were 
nailed,  and  quicksilver  placed  there.  Then  the  precious 
dirt  was  thrown  in.  The  water  washed  away  the  mud,  but 


A    VISIT    TO    A    GOLD    MINE. 


241 


Hydraulic  Mining. 

allowed  the  grains  and  dust  of  gold  to  fall  to  the  bottom, 
to  be  swallowed  up  by  the  quicksilver,  which  dissolves 
pure  gold  and  gathers  it  into  itself  as  water  does  sugar. 

But  all  this  loose  gold  comes  from  the  wearing  away  of 
the  rocks  in  which  the  gold  is ;  and  the  miners  soon  began 
to  hunt  for  the  rocks  themselves,  to  drag  them  out  of  the 
mountains,  and  to  crush  them  to  get  the  gold  out.  It  is 
from  such  mining  that  the  most  of  our  gold  now  comes. 


XXXII.     A    VISIT   TO    A    GOLD    MINE. 

TO-DAY  we  shall  first  go  down  into  one  of  the  great 
gold  mines  of  Colorado,  and  see  something  of  the 
enormous  work  it  takes  to  get  this  precious  ore  out  of  the 
earth.     Then  we  shall  follow  the  ore  to  the  mill,  and  see 
how  the  gold  is  taken  out  of  the  rock  with  which  it  is  mixed. 


242  THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    REGION. 

Our  mine  is  situated  high  up  in  the  mountains,  more 
than  two  miles  above  the  sea,  and  not  far  from  Pikes  Peak. 
As  we  ride  up  to  it  on  our  donkeys,  we  wonder  how  the 
miners  could  tell  there  was  any  gold  there,  and  we  pass 
on  the  way  hundreds  of  holes  which  have  been  dug  by 
men  who  have  failed  to  find  gold.  Gold,  as  you  know, 
does  not:  exist  everywhere,  and  it  is  only  when  veins  of  rich 
gold-bearing  rock  are  discovered  that  it  pays  to  sink  mines. 

At  last  we  come  to  the  mine.  The  buildings  above  it 
look  more  like  a  big  factory  than  anything  else.  There  is 
an  immense  steam  engine,  and  hoisting  machinery  to  lift 
the  cars  of  ore  up  out  of  the  ground.  The  great  building 
is  known  as  the  shaft  house,  and  the  hole  which  goes  down 
into  the  mine  is  called  the  shaft.  The  shaft  of  this  mine 
is  about  eight  feet  square,  and  almost  as  deep  as  the 
height  of  the  Washington  Monument.  Elevators  are  al 
ways  moving  up  and  down  it,  bringing  out  the  rock  which 
contains  the  gold.  We  can  jump  on  the  elevator  and  go 
down  into  the  mine.  The  shaft  is  sunk  just  at  the  side  of 
the  vein  of  gold-bearing  rock,  and  from  it  tunnels  are  dug 
off  here  and  there  to  get  out  the  ore. 

Each  tunnel  has  a  little  railroad  in  it,  and  the  golden 
rock  is  loaded  into  iron  cars  each  about  the  size  of  a  dry- 
goods  box.  Each  car  will  hold  about  a  ton  of  ore,  and 
when  it  is  filled  it  is  pushed  upon  the  elevator,  and  a  signal 
to  the  engineer  brings  it  to  the  top. 

A  car  is  being  taken  off  as  we  reach  the  shaft  house,  and 
the  manager  of  the  mine  directs  us  to  step  on  the  elevator. 
He  signals  to  the  engineer,  and  we  start  downward  into 
the  mine.  Within  a  few  seconds  we  are  far  below  the 
surface.  The  shaft  is  filled  with  a  darkness  so  dense  we 
can  almost  feel  it.  We  huddle  close  together,  and  drop 
sixtv-five  feet  before  we  come  to  the  first  level. 


A    VISIT   TO    A    GOLD    MINE. 


243 


Here  we  see  a  score  of  dirty  miners,  each  holding  a 
candle,  the  light  of  which  makes  him  look  almost  ghostlike 
against  the  darkness  of  the  tun 
nel  at  the  back.  The  miners 
have  a  carload  of  ore  which  they 
want  to  send  to  the  top.  We 
go  down  to  another  level  sixty- 
five  feet  below  this,  where  an 
other  great  tunnel  has  been  cut 
out  in  the  mountains;  and  at 
last,  at  the  fifth  tunnel,  three 
hundred  feet  below  the  top  of 
the  mine,  we  leave  the  elevator. 

The  miners  lend  us  their  can 
dles,  and,  as  we  walk  along,  the 
manager  shows  us  the  vein  of 
rock  which  contains  the  gold. 
It  looks  just  like  slate,  and  it 
seems  to  be  a  sandwich  of  slate 
between  walls  of  othes  rock  run 
ning  slanting  down  into  the 

earth.  How  far  down  it  goes  no  one  can  tell.  The  tun 
nels  are  pipes  of  rock  cut,  as  it  were,  out  of  the  golden 
meat  of  the  sandwich. 

As  we  go  through  the  tunnel,  we  see  how  difficult  it  is 
to  get  out  the  ore.  Here  a  miner  works  by  the  light  of  a 
tallow  candle.  He  has  a  piece  of  steel  as  big  around  as  a 
broomstick  in  his  hand,  and  about  as  long.  He  is  pound 
ing  it  with  a  great  hammer,  moving  it  round  and  round, 
making  a  hole  in  the  rock.  Now  he  lays  down  his  tools. 
He  takes  up  what  looks  like  a  big  candle,  and  sticks  it 
into  the  hole.  Notice  how  carefully  he  handles  the  can 
dle.  It  is  well  he  does  so,  for  that  candle  is  dynamite,  and 


Elevator  in  Mine. 


244  THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    REGION. 

should  it  go  off  now  it  would  blow  us  all  to  pieces.  He 
is  using  it  to  blast  down  the  rock.  Now  he  connects  a 
fuse  with  it,  and  packs  the  earth  tightly  in  about  it.  Now 
he  lights  the  fuse,  and  the  manager  tells  us  to  run.  We 
do  so,  and  just  reach  a  side  tunnel  when  a  terrible  explo 
sion  occurs.  The  very  earth  seems  to  shake,  and  the  air 
is  blown  so  that  our  candles  go  out,  although  we  are  now 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  away.  We  hear  the  rock  fall,  and, 
going  back,  find  the  miners  digging  it  out  with  picks,  and 
throwing  it  into  holes  in  the  bottom  of  the  tunnel.  It  falls 
through  these  into  the  cars  in  the  tunnel  below. 

The  ore,  as  it  is  loaded  upon  the  car,  looks  for  all  the 
world  like  piec.es  of  ordinary  rock ;  we  can  see  no  signs  of 
gold  about  it;  and  still  each  ton  of  rock  contains  so  much 
gold  that  it  is  worth  from  ten  dollars  to  several  hundred 
dollars.  Some  parts  of  the  vein  are  much  richer  than 
others,  and  some  ore  is  so  valuable  that  it  is  put  in  sacks 
by  itself,  a  little  half-bushel  sack  being  worth  as  much  as 
ten  thousand  dollars. 

The  different  kinds  of  ore  need  different  treatments  to 
get  the  gold  out.  The  very  rich  ore  goes  to  the  smelters, 
where  it  is  put  into  furnaces,  with  other  materials,  and  so 
melted  that  the  gold  is  extracted.  Other  kinds  of  ore  are 
treated  by  chemicals  and  gases  in  different  ways;  and 
much  of  the  rock  which  is  of  a  low  grade  —  that  is,  which 
contains  only  small  quantities  of  gold — is  sent  to  the  cy 
anide  mills.  Here  it  goes  through  a  comparatively  new 
process,  by  means  of  which  every  bit  of  gold  is  extracted. 
This  process  is  a  very  important  one. 

Let  us  go  to  the  top  of  the  shaft,  and  ride  on  one  of  the 
cars  of  ore  to  the  cyanide  mill.  Our  car  is  piled  with 
broken  stones  of  different  colors.  There  is  gravel  in  it. 
Pick  up  a  piece  of  rock  from  any  part  of  the  carload  on 


A    VISIT   TO    A    GOLD    MINE. 


245 


which  we  are  sitting.  You  might  put  it  under  a  micro 
scope,  and  you  could  not  see  a  glint  of  yellow,  or  anything 
which  to  your  eyes  would  indicate  gold.  Still,  that  rock 
will  average  half  an  ounce,  or  about  ten  dollars'  worth,  of 
gold  to  the  ton.  In  those  carloads  one  atom  in  many, 
many  thousand  is  gold,  but  this  atom  is  almost  evenly 
mixed  throughout  the  whole.  The  question  is  to  get  it 
out. 

The  superintendent  of  the  works  tells  us  this  as  we  ride 
on  the  cars  up  to  the  mill.  The  engine  drags  our  car  over 
a  trestlework  track  to  the  top  of  the  mill,  for  the  rock  is 
carried  from  one  level  to  another  by  means  of  gravity. 

We   look  down  at  the  load  as  we  go  up.     There  are 
specks  of  stone  the  size  of  the  head  of  a  pin,  and  there  are 
immense  bowlders,  weighing  hundreds  of  pounds.      All 
this      must     be 
crushed  to  pow 
der  before  it  can 
be  worked. 

The  car  stops 
at  the  top,  and 
the  ore  is  loaded 
into  what  looks 
like  a  gigantic 
coffee  mill,  the 
top  of  which  is 
as  big  around  as 
a  hogshead.  As 
the  rock  falls 
into  it,  the  mill  Rock  Crusher. 

seizes  the  stones 

in  its  great  steel  teeth  and  grinds  them  to  pieces.  We  imag 
ine  we  hear  them  groan  as  they  are  crushed,  and  we  shud- 


246  THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    REGION. 

der  at  the  thought  of  getting  into  the  jaws  of  the  machin 
ery.  This  mill  grinds  the  ore  to  the  size  of  a  walnut. 
Another  takes  it  and  reduces  it  to  pieces  the  size  of  a  pea, 
and  it  is  then  ready  for  the  drier. 

Every  molecule  of  moisture  must  be  taken  out  of  the 
ore  before  it  can  be  ground  to  powder.  This  is  done  by 
passing  it  through  enormous  steel  tubes  fifty  feet  long  and 
as  big  around  as  a  flour  barrel.  Through  these  tubes 
flames  of  gas  continually  blow,  and  the  heat  takes  all  the 
moisture  out  of  the  rock. 

Then  an  elevator  of  iron  buckets,  much  like  that  we  saw 
in  the  flour  mill,  carries  the  ore  to  the  top  of  the  works, 
and  it  is  emptied  into  steel  crushers,  which  grind  it  to 
powder.  The  ore  which  we  saw  before  as  cobblestones 
and  broken  rock  has  now  become  a  flour.  It  looks  like 
dust,  but  each  grain  of  it  contains  a  little  bit  of  gold,  and 
this  costly  dust  is  worth  a  fortune.  The  rock  was  hard 
and  rough.  The  dust  is  so  soft  and  fine  you  can  rub  it  to 
and  fro  in  your  hands  without  scratching  the  skin,  and  it 
looks  much  like  powdered  pumice  stone.  It  has,  however, 
no  gleam  of  gold,  and  were  it  on  the  road  you  would  walk 
over  it  without  thinking. 

Now  out  of  each  of  those  grains  of  dust  the  gold  is  to 
be  taken.  This  will  be  done  by  giving  them  a  bath  in  a 
solution  of  cyanide  of  potassium  and  water.  Cyanide  of 
potassium  is  a  chemical  which  looks  like  alum.  When 
dissolved  in  water  it  has  such  an  attraction  for  gold  that  if 
there  is  any  gold  in  anything  which  it  touches,  the  gold 
will  melt  into  the  fluid  and  become  a  part  of  it,  just  as 
sugar  or  salt  goes  into  water.  The  dust  with  the  gold  in 
it  is  put  into  circular  tanks  of  steel,  each  about  as  high 
as  your  waist  and  so  large  around  that  you  could  not 
get  one  of  them  into  an  ordinary  schoolroom.  Then  the 


A    VISIT   TO    A    GOLD    MINE. 


247 


water  containing  the  cyanide  is  let  in.  We  can  see  it 
flowing  down  out  of  the  pipes  into  the  golden  flour.  It 
looks  just  like  water;  but  if  you  should  taste  it,  it  would 
kill  you,  for  the  cyanide  makes  it  deadly  poisonous.  As 
the  stuff  runs  through  the  flour,  it  makes  it  look  like  a 
great  pot  of  brown  mush  or  mud.  It  would  make  good 
mud  pies ;  but  it  is  mud  mixed  with  gold.  As  the  cyanide 
water  goes  through  it,  the  gold  leaves  the  mud  and  passes 
into  the  water,  which  is  then  drawn  off  through  the  bot 
tom  of  the  tank.  There  is  some  of  it  now  flowing  through 
that  trough.  It  does  not  look  as  though  there  was  gold  in 
it,  but  there  is,  and  if  we  follow  it  into  the  room  below,  we 
can  see  how  the  gold  is  gotten  out  of  the  water. 

This  is  done  by  means  of  the  attraction  the  gold  has  for 
zinc.  We  have  seen  how  fond  gold  is  of  cyanide.  We 
now  find  that  it  likes  zinc  even  better.  The  golden  water 


Prospecting  for  Gold. 


CARP.   N.  AM.  — 1 6 


248  'I  UK    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    RECION. 

is  run  into  boxes  filled  with  shavings  of  zinc,  much  like  the 
excelsior  we  use  for  packing.  As  the  water  touches  these 
shavings,  the  gold  leaves  it  and  sticks  to  the  zinc ;  and 
when  the  water  again  passes  out,  all  of  the  gold  is  left. 
The  shavings  are  now  washed  to  get  off  the  gold ;  and  the 
dirty  zinc  and  gold  is  so  melted  in  a  furnace  that  when  the 
mouth  of  the  furnace  is  opened,  a  golden  stream  pours 
forth,  which,  being  run  into  a  mold,  soon  hardens  into  a 
brick  of  gold  more  pure  than  the  finest  wedding  ring. 

We  find  gold-mining  camps  almost  everywhere  as  we 
travel  through  the  Rockies ;  and  away  off  in  the  moun 
tains,  hundreds  of  miles  from  any  cities,  we  see  men  going 
from  place  to  place,  digging,  or  prospecting,  for  gold. 


XXXIII.     A    DAY   IN    A    SILVER    MINE. 

YESTERDAY  we  spent  in  the  depths  of  the  earth,  sur 
rounded  by  gold.  To-day  we  are  to  visit  one  of  the 
silver  mines  of  our  country.  The  United  States  and 
Mexico  are  the  world's  two  greatest  silver-producing  coun 
tries,  and  there  are  mining  cities  in  the  Rockies  which  are 
built  above  beds  of  silver-bearing  rock,  and  in  which  pay 
ing  mines  might  be  sunk  by  digging  under  the  principal 
streets.  This  is  the  case  with  Leadville,  Colorado,  which 
is  in  one  of  the  chief  silver  regions  of  the  country. 

The  mine  we  shall  enter  to-day  is  much  farther  west. 
It  is  the  famous  Ontario  Mine,  situated  in  the  Wasatch 
Mountains,  near  Park  City,  Utah,  which  has  already  pro 
duced  more  than  thirty  million  dollars'  worth  of  silver. 

We  ride  through  the  muddy  streets  of  Park  City,  up  the 
narrow  gulch  behind  it,  past  great  works  which  are  crush- 


A    DAY    IN    A    SILVER    MINE. 


249 


Mining  District  —  Leadville. 

ing  the  ore  to  extract  the  silver,  and  on  up  to  the  big 
barnlike  buildings  which  contain  the  machinery  for  getting 
the  ore  out  of  the  mine. 

Here  there  is  a  shaft  like  that  by  which  we  descended 
into  the  gold  mine.  The  silver,  like  the  gold,  is  found  in 
a  great  vein,  or  sandwich,  of  silver-bearing  rock  between 
walls  of  other  rock.  No  one  knows  how  far  down  into  the 
earth  this  silver  vein  goes.  The  shaft  which  has  been  sunk 
beside  it  extends  down  about  one  third  of  a  mile,  and  at 
levels  one  hundred  feet  apart  tunnels  have  been  dug  out 
into  the  vein  to  extract  the  ore.  Each  of  these  tunnels  is 
from  four  to  six  feet  wide,  and  so  high  that  we  can  walk 
through  it  without  stooping.  From  the  tunnels  the  miners 
have  worked  upward  along  the  vein,  digging  out  great 
caves  and  rooms  in  the  mountain,  all  of  which  have  to  be 
walled  and  roofed  with  timbers  to  keep  the  earth  from 
falling  in, 


25O  THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    REGION. 

A  good  idea  of  a  silver  mine  might  be  gotten  from  a 
big  New  York  apartment  house.  Take  the  Ontario,  for 
instance.  It  has  fifteen  stories,  eacli  one  hundred  feet  in 
height.  In  the  shaft  there  is  an  elevator  which  a  steam 
engine  raises  and  lowers,  carrying  the  ore  and  the  men 
from  story  to  story.  At  each  story  a  tunnel  runs  off 
through  the  vein  and  connects  with  the  rooms,  or  stopes,  as 
they  are  called  by  the  miners.  The  tunnels  are  the  pas 
sageways  or  halls  of  the  flats,  and  the  stopes  are  rooms  dug- 
upward  and  outward  in  getting  out  the  ore.  Each  tunnel 
has  a  little  railroad  running  through  it,  and  there  are  about 
fifty  miles  of  such  tunnels  in  the  Ontario. 

The  cars  of  the  railroad  are  of  iron.  They  are  always 
loaded  by  gravity.  From  the  tunnel  of  each  of  these 
stories  to  the  tunnel  below  it  a  pipe,  .or  chute,  has  been 
cut  at  such  an  angle  that  the  ore  being  shoveled  into 
it  will  roll  down  and  fall  into  the  car  placed  at  its  mouth 
at  the  other  end,  one  hundred  feet  below,  thus  saving  the 
lifting  of  the  heavy  ore. 

But  the  manager  is  ready  to  take  us  down  into  the  mine. 
Two  cars,  each  containing  fifteen  hundred  pounds  of  silver 
ore,  have  just  been  wheeled  off  of  the  elevator,  and  we  are 
told  to  step  on. 

As  we  do  so,  the  manager  gives  a  signal  to  the  en 
gineer,  and  we  start  down  into  the  earth.  We  descend  as 
fast  as  though  we  were  in  the  elevator  of  a  Chicago  hotel, 
and  drop  at  once  into  the  darkness.  We  are  warned  to 
keep  close  within  the  cage,  as  a  hand  or  a  head  might  be 
taken  off  by  a  projecting  timber.  We  hold  on  for  dear 
life  to  the  iron  rail  above  us,  and  try  to  shrink  ourselves 
inward  as  far  as  possible  as  we  go  down,  down,  down. 
Now  we  pass  one  of  the  levels,  and  catch  a  glimpse  of  a 
candle  in  the  opening.  Now  our  ears  are  dinned  by  the 


A   DAY    IN    A    SILVER    MTVK.  25  T 

shooting  of  a  blast,  and  the  sound  so  shakes  the  air  that 
our  candles  are  blown  out.  We  light  them  again  when 
we  fall  to  the  next  level,  and  the  faces  of  the  miners  about 
us  look  weird  and  ghostlike  in  their  flickering  glare. 

It  makes  us  shudder,  and  we  feel  at  times  as  though  we 
were  on  the  edge  of  the  grave.  We  tremble  when  the 
elevator  is  stopped  at  the  sixth  level,  and  there,  six  hun 
dred  feet  below  the  earth,  a  miner  steps  on  with  a  box 
of  dynamite  candles.  It  is  no  bigger  than  a  soap  box. 
It  cannot  be  more  than  two  feet  square,  but  it  has 
enough  dynamite  in  it  to  blow  up  the  Capitol  at  Wrash- 
ington.  There  is  no  top  to  the  box,  and  as  the  miner 
places  it  close  to  our  feet,  we  think  of  the  terrible  possi 
bilities.  Suppose  a  rock  should  drop  from  the  top  down 
upon  that  dynamite!  Suppose  a  spark  from  a  candle  or 
a  bit  of  wick  should  fall  into  it!  We  can  feel  our  hair 
rising  and  our  faces  whiten.  We  ask  as  to  the  danger, 
and  are  told  that  it  is  comparatively  small,  but  that  the 
box  contains  forty  per  cent,  of  nitroglycerin.  We  feel 
much  relieved,  however,  when  it  is  taken  away. 

And  so  we  go  on  down  to  the  bottom.  As  we  descend 
we  hear  the  rushing  of  water.  Many  of  our  silver  mines 
are  wet  mines.  The  water  has  to  be  kept  out  of  them, 
and  vast  works  are  necessary  for  this  end.  The  Ontario 
is  a  wet  mine,  and  among  its  waterworks  is  the  famous 
Ontario  Tunnel,  which  was  built,  at  a  cost  of  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  to  carry  the  water  out  of  the  mine.  This 
tunnel  is  a  subterranean  passageway  three  miles  in  length, 
so  wide  that  we  could  drive  a  buggy  through  it,  and  so 
high  that  we  walk  in  it  without  stooping.  The  tunnel 
has  a  floor  running  through  it.  Upon  this  there  is  a  rail 
road  by  which  ore  and  men  are  carried  from  one  part  of 
the  mine  to  another  by  mules. 


THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    REGION. 


As  we  walk  over  the  road  we  hear  the  rushing  of  water, 
and  look  down  between  the  boards.  There  is  a  torrent 
flowing  under  us.  It  comes  from  the  mine  at  the  rate  of 
ten  thousand  gallons  a  minute,  and  as  we  listen,  we  hear 
the  water  falling,  falling,  as  it  comes  from  the  levels  above. 
There  was  not  an  ounce  of  silver  in  the  rock  which  was 
dug  away  to  make  this  tunnel,  and  it  gives  us  some  idea 
of  the  cost  of  mining  when  we  learn  that  this  half-million 
dollars  was  spent  for  dead  work,  and  solely  to  get  the 
water  away  from  the  other  parts  of  the  mine. 

It  is  the  water  that 
necessitates  the  wall 
ing  of  the  tunnels  and 
the  stopes  with  logs. 
The  wet  earth  is  al 
ways  pressing  in,  and 
without  timbers  the 
mine  would  not  last 
for  an  hour.  The 
pressure  is  so  great 
that  it  sometimes 
grinds  the  great  pine 
logs  to  powder.  Some 
of  the  highest-priced  men  employed  in  the  mines  are  those 
who  take  care  of  the  timbers,  who  walk  through  the  mine 
daily,  looking  for  weak  spots.  The  best  of  timber  is  re 
quired,  and  that  used  in  the  Ontario  Mine  comes  from  the 
forests  of  Oregon. 

And  so  we  go  along  from  tunnel  to  tunnel.  Now  we 
climb  into  one  of  the  stopes,  and  watch  the  men  at  work. 
We  have  candles  in  our  hands,  and  we  crawl  along,  bend 
ing  almost  double,  the  water  dripping  down  upon  us.  At 
last  we  enter  a  cave.  Here  a  half-dozen  miners  are  work- 


Timbers  in  a  Mine. 


A    DAY    IN    A    SILVER    MINE.  253 

ing.  Some  are  taking  the  ore  out  with  picks.  Their  wire 
candlesticks  are  stuck  into  the  rocks  beside  them  as  they 
dig  away  at  the  pile  of  stone  which  has  been  blasted  out 
by  dynamite.  Some  are  loading  ore.  They  push  it  into 
the  chutes  with  long-handled  shovels,  and  we  hear  it  roll 
down  and  strike  the  iron  bottom  of  the  car  beneath. 

In  other  places  men  are  drilling  in  order  to  blast.  They 
blow  down  the  rock  with  dynamite  just  as  the  miners  did 
in  the  gold  mine  we  visited.  There  goes  a  blast  now. 
Let  us  go  to  the  scene  of  the  explosion.  The  dynamite 
has  torn  the  rock  out  of  the  earth,  and  a  great  mass  of  sil 
ver-bearing  ore  has  been  loosened  from  the  sides  of  the 
mountain.  As  we  stop,  the  miners  show  us  the  vein.  It 
runs  from  six  inches  to  forty  feet  in  width,  the  average 
being  fifteen  feet,  and  in  it  we  can  see  streaks  of  silver  ore, 
some  of  which  are  three  feet  wide. 

But  let  us  follow  the  ore  to  the  mill.  It  is  put  into  the 
steel  cars,  raised  to  the  surface,  and  carried  in  wagons  to 
the  immense  frame  buildings  farther  down  the  mountain. 
First  it  is  run  through  a  crusher,  which  chews  the  rocks 
between  its  teeth  until  they  are  ground  into  pebbles  and 
fitted  for  the  drier.  The  wet  ore  is  dried  much  as  we  saw 
the  gold  rock  roasted  in  the  cyanide  mill.  It  is  next 
crushed  to  a  flour  with  heavy  steel  stamps,  and  then  mixed 
with  salt,  and  roasted  again  in  such  a  way  as  to  prepare  it 
for  the  quicksilver,  which,  as  we  shall  see  later  on,  sucks 
the  silver  out  of  the  ore  flour. 

After  being  roasted,  the  hot  ore  flour  is  left  piled  up  on 
the  floor  of  the  furnace  room  for  a  time.  We  see  several 
such  piles  there  as  we  go  in.  They  look  like  piles  of  sand, 
and  we  feel  tempted  to  jump  into  them,  when  the  man 
ager  pulls  us  back,  and  tells  one  of  the  men  to  stir  up  a 
pile  with  a  shovel.  He  does  so,  and  we  see  that  only  the 


254 


THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAIN   REGION. 


outside  is  yellow.  Under  the  thin  coating  the  ore  is  red- 
hot,  and  had  we  jumped  into  it  our  legs  would  have  been 
roasted. 

The  process  by  which  the  quicksilver  takes  the  silver 
out  of  the  ore  makes  one  think  of  the  prince  in  the  fairy 
tale,  who  broke  through  the  hedge  and  kissed  into  life  the 
princess  who  had  been  sleeping  for  a  hundred  years.  It 
is  the  quicksilver  prince,  in  fact,  who  kisses  the  sleeping 
silver-ore  maiden  into  life,  and  carries  her  away  from  the 
palace  of  rock  in  which  she  has  been  locked  for  ages. 
After  the  sand  has  cooled,  it  is  carried  into  what  is  known 


Interior  of  a  Silver  Mill. 


as  the  pan  room,  and  is  thrown  into  great  pans  of  iron, 
each  of  which  holds  about  three  thousand  pounds.  Water 
is  introduced,  and  this  turns  the  ore  sand  to  a  thick  brown 
mush. 

Now  into  each  of  the  pans,  through  a  little  pipe,  are 


A    DAY    IN    A    SILVER    MINE.  255 

poured  three  pounds  of  quicksilver,  and  stirring  machinery 
is  set  to  work,  which  moves  about  through  the  ore,  mix 
ing  the  quicksilver  with  it.  The  sand  was  warm,  and  the 
quicksilver  by  the  warmth  becomes  active,  and  by  the 
mixing  divides  into  drops  as  big  as  the  point  of  a  pin.  The 
mixers  move  about  at  the  rate  of  sixty  revolutions  a  min 
ute,  and  send  these  little  quicksilver  drops  through  the 
sand.  As  they  go  they  seek  out  the  particles  of  silver, 
and  as  each  drop  of  quicksilver  touches  an  atom  of  silver  it 
sucks  it  into  itself.  This  traveling  of  the  quicksilver  is 
kept  up  for  eight  hours,  at  the  end  of  which  time  all  of 
the  silver  in  the  sand  has  been  absorbed  by  the  quick 
silver. 

The  two  metals  have  united,  and  the  marriage  is  com 
plete.  The  quicksilver  is  now  drawn  off,  and  you  have  a 
bucketful  or  so  of  quicksilver  containing  the  silver.  But 
man  cannot  use  quicksilver  and  silver  mixed  together. 
The  quicksilver-and-silver  mixture  is  now  put  into  a  fur 
nace,  which  is  so  tightly  sealed  up  that  not  even  vapor  can 
get  out  of  it,  except  by  means  of  a  pipe  at  one  end.  Then 
the  fire  below  is  made  hotter  and  hotter  until  at  last  the 
quicksilver,  which  turns  to  vapor  at  two  hundred  and  sixty 
degrees  of  heat,'  rises  up  in  the  form  of  vapor.  It  flows 
off  into  the  pipe,  and  is  condensed  farther  on  by  cool  water 
passing  over  the  pipe,  and  is  thus  saved. 

The  pure  silver  does  not  vaporize  at  all.  After  the 
quicksilver  has  left  it,  it  is  allowed  to  cool ;  and  when  the 
furnace  is  opened,  it  is  found  on  the  bottom,  looking  for 
all  the  world  like  a  piece  of  old  plank  covered  with  ashes. 
It  is  now  silver  slag,  or  impure  silver  bullion,  and  is  ready 
to  be  shipped  to  the  refining  furnaces  in  other  parts  of  the 
country,  where,  by  means  of  chemicals,  it  is  made  pure  and 
fitted  to  go  to  the  mint  to  become  silver  dollars. 


256  THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAIN    REGION. 


XXXIV.     ACROSS   THE    ROCKIES   TO    SALT 
LAKE. 

THE  trip  from  Denver  to  San  Francisco  requires  about 
thirty-six  hours  of  fast  railroad  travel.     We  find  the 
journey  far  different  from   those  we  took  in  the  eastern 
part  of  our  country.     The  railroads  climb  right  over  the 


Railroad  over  the  Mountains. 

Rocky  Mountains.  We  wind  about  one  curve  after  an 
other,  through  great  gorges  where  the  cliffs  seem  about  to 
fall  down  upon  us,  climbing  always  upward,  until  at  one 
place  we  reach  a  pass  where  we  are  two  miles  above  the 
sea.  Now  everything  is  dry  and  rocky  and  thirsty-look 
ing.  The  air  is  so  clear  that  we  can  see  for  miles,  and  so 
pure  that  we  drink  in  deep  breaths  of  it.  In  climbing  the 
mountains,  we  find  that  we  have  to  stop  every  few  mo 
ments  to  breathe.  Some  of  us  feel  faint  and  sick  from  the 


CROSSING   THE    MOUNTAINS. 


257 


rarity  of  the  air.  We  learn  that  some  people  are  always 
attacked  by  the  mountain  sickness  at  this  altitude.  I  have 
seen  people  faint  away  in  going  over  Marshall  Pass,  on  the 
Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railroad. 

We  ride  for  miles  without  being  out  of  sight  of  snow. 
Snow  lies  on  the  tops  of  the  mountains  all  the  year  round. 
In  the  winter  it  falls  in  such  quantities  that  the  drifts  cover 
the  railroad  tracks ;  hence  miles  of  snowsheds  have  been 
built  over  the  tracks  around  the  sides  of  the  mountains,  in 
order  to  keep  the  snow  from  stopping  the  cars.  Going 
through  these  sheds  is  much  like  going  through  a  big  tun 
nel,  except  that,  here  and  there,  we  pass  a  crack  through 
which  we  can  peep  out  and  look  down  perhaps  thousands 
of  feet  into  the  valleys  below. 

The  scenery  is  wonderfully  grand  ;  but  as  we  look  at  the 
country  about  us,  from  the  rocky  desert  to  the  snow-clad 


Mountains  in  Utah. 


258 


THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    REGION. 


mountains,  we  wonder  if  this  part  of  the  United  States  can 
really  be  of  much  value.  We  remember,  however,  the 
mines  of  gold  and  silver,  and  are  told  that  vast  deposits  of 
copper,  lead,  and  other  minerals  are  found  here.  We  learn 
that  where  there  is  water  large  herds  of  cattle  can  be  pas 
tured  upon  the  high  plains,  and  that  thousands  of  such 
beasts  are  turned  out  to  graze,  under  the  charge  of  herds 
men,  who  are  sometimes  called  cowboys. 

Vast  flocks  of  sheep  are  pastured  among  the  mountains. 
These  flocks  are  watched  by  shepherds  who  live,  with 
their  sheep  dogs,  in  covered  wagons  from  one  year's  end 
to  the  other,  while  driving  the  sheep  from  place  to  place 
to  find  the  best  feeding  grounds.  As  we  see  these  wagons 
standing  out  on  the  plains,  with  nothing  but  the  rocks, 
grass,  and  sky  about  them,  it  seems  to  us  that  such  a  life 
must  be  very  lonesome.  We  ask  if  it  is  so,  and  are  told  that 
the  shepherds  sometimes  go  crazy  for  the  want  of  company. 

Now  and  then  we  pass 
prairie-dog  villages — lit 
tle  hillocks,  each  of  which 
has  a  hole  leading  into  it 
to  the  nest  where  the 
prairie  dogs  live  with  their 
young.  The  prairie  dogs 
are  about  the  size  of  small 
rabbits.  Some  of  them 
sit  on  their  hind  legs,  on 
the  tops  of  their  little 
houses,  and  watch  the 
cars  as  they  go  by,  while 
others  are  frightened  and  scamper  into  their  holes.  We 
look  in  vain  for  the  grizzly  bear,  deer,  and  mountain  sheep. 
Such  animals  are  seldom  seen  near  the  railroads,  although 


Prairie  Dogs. 


SALT    LAKE    CITY. 


259 


a  few  hours'  walk  from  almost  any  of  the  stations  will  bring 
you  to  places  where  they  can  be  found. 

The  country  seems  to  grow  more  dusty  and  dreary  as 
we  travel  farther  westward,  when  all  at  once  we  come  out 
of  the  desert  into  the  green  valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake, 
and. find  ourselves  in  Salt  Lake  City,  the  capital  of  Utah. 

There  are  few  more  beautiful  towns  than  Salt  Lake 
City.  It  lies  in  a  valley,  surrounded  by  mountains  which, 
at  the  back  of  the  town,  rise  more  than  a  mile  upward, 
their  heads  crowned  with  everlasting  snow.  A  few  miles 
away  to  the  northwest  lies  the  Great  Salt  Lake ;  and  north 
ward  and  southward,  as  far  as  we  can  see,  is  a  green  valley 
covered  with  meadows,  orchards,  vineyards,  and  gardens. 


Salt  Lake  City, 


260  Till-;    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    REGION. 

Salt  Lake  City  has  very  wide  streets,  shaded  by  great 
forest  trees.  Its  houses  have  lawns,  gardens,  and  orchards 
about  them  ;  and  along  the  sides  of  each  street  a  stream  of 
mountain  water  flows.  There  are  few  poor  buildings,  and 
the  city  seems  to  us  a  prosperous  place. 

Salt  Lake  City  was  built  by  the  Mormons,  who,  with 
their  prophet  Brigham  Young  as  leader,  long  before  the 
days  of  railroads,  traveled  over  the  plains  and  mountains, 
and  picked  out  this  spot  for  their  city.  The  Mormons 
were  a  body  of  men  who  thought  they  had  received  a  new 
revelation  from  God  which  they  were  to  obey.  Among 
other  things,  they  believed  that  it  was  right  for  a  man  to 
have  more  than  one  wife ;  but  as  this  is  against  the  laws 
of  the  United  States,  they  do  not  now  practice  this. belief. 

The  Mormons  laid  out  their  city,  dividing  it  into  squares 
of  ten  acres  each,  and  began  to  build  the  great  structures 
of  the  Mormon  Church  which  are  now  among  the  wonder 
ful  buildings  of  the  world.  The  Mormon  Temple,  recently 
finished,  is  one  of  the  grandest  churches  in  this  country. 
It  is  built  of  granite  from  quarries  in  the  mountains  near 
by.  It  covers  more  than  an  acre,  and  is  one  hundred  feet 
high,  with  great  towers,  which  rise  up  more  than  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty  feet  higher  than  the  main  building.  The 
temple  was  almost  forty  years  in  building,  and  it  has  cost 
half  as  much  as  the  Capitol  at  Washington.  It  is  where 
the  Mormons  meet  for  some  special  observances  of  their 
religion,  and  outsiders  cannot  enter  it. 

Not  far  from  the  temple,  we  see  the  great  building  in 
which  the  Mormons  worship  every  Sunday.  It  looks  like 
an  enormous  bath  tub,  or  the  half  of  an  eggshell  set  upon 
pillars.  It  is  made  entirely  of  iron,  glass,  and  stone,  with 
a  roof  of  stamped  copper.  It  is  known  as  the  tabernacle, 
and  is  open  to  all.  The  tabernacle  has  seats  for  nine 


SALT    LAKE    CITY. 


26l 


Mormon  Temple  and  Tabernacle. 

thousand  people.  Upon  ordinary  Sundays  more  than  six 
thousanol  men,  women,  and  children  go  to  church  there, 
and  at  many  times  the  seats  are  all  filled.  The  Mormons, 
who  were  very  few  at  first,  grew  in  numbers  from  year  to 
year,  and  it  is  now  estimated  that  there  are  several  hun 
dred  thousand  of  them  in  Utah. 

At  the  time  the  Mormons  came  here  the  Salt  Lake  Val 
ley  was  almost  all  desert.  They  turned  the  streams  of 
water  out  over  the  land,  irrigating  it,  and  thus  transforming 
it  into  prosperous  farms.  As  we  travel  through  these 
regions,  we  shall  learn  that  much  of  the  desert  will  make 
the  best  farming  land  if  it  can  only  have  water. 

In  many  parts  of  our  country  there  is  so  much  water 


262 


THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    REGION. 


that  we  do  not  stop  to  think  what  it  is  worth.  In  the  far 
West  men  buy  and  sell  water.  There  are  thousands  of 
farmers  in  Colorado,  Utah,  California,  and  other  states 
who  are  glad  to  pay  for  the  water  which  comes  from  the 
streams.  There  are  irrigation  companies,  which  spend 


An  Irrigation  Canal. 

vast  sums  to  save  the  water  and  to  carry  it  to  the  right 
points  on  the  land.  The  water  is  sometimes  dammed  up 
in  the  mountains,  being  stored  there  in  lakes,  and  only  so 
much  is  allowed  to  go  out  at  a  time.  Canals  are  built  from 
the  rivers  out  into  the  desert,  and  smaller  canals  lead  off 
from  these,  covering  the  thirsty  land  with  a  network  of 
little  waterways  within  which  all  things  will  grow  even 
more  luxuriantly  than  in  the  countries  where  there  is 


GREAT   SALT   LAKE.  263 

more  rain.  Such  watering  of  land  is  called  irrigation.  We 
shall  see  much  of  it  in  all  the  states  of  this  region. 

From  Salt  Lake  City  we  can  ride  in  less  than  an  hour 
to  the  Great  Salt  Lake.  This  lake  lies  in  the  vast  basin 
between  the  Wasatch  Range  and  the  Sierra  Nevada.  The 
basin  has  no  outlet  to  either  ocean,  but  part  of  its  water 
flows  into  the  Great  Salt  Lake. 

This  wonderful  body  of  water  is  one  hundred  miles  long, 
and  its  average  width  is  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  miles. 
It  lies  right  at  the  foot  of  the  Wasatch  Range,  and  is  so 
bounded  by  mountains  that  streams  of  fresh  water  are  al 
ways  flowing  into  it ;  but,  notwithstanding  this,  it  is  six 
times  as  salty  as  the  waters  of  the  ocean.  It  furnishes  the 
most  delightful  salt-water  bathing  in  the  world,  although 
it  is  more  than  a  thousand  miles  away  from  either  ocean. 
Any  one  can  swim  in  it ;  for  the  salt  makes  the  water  so 
heavy  that,  if  you  were  to  tread  your  way  out  from  the 
shore  to  where  the  water  is  fifty  feet  deep,  you  could  not 
possibly  sink,  and  your  body,  from  the  shoulders  upward, 
would  stick  out  of  it  like  a  cork  on  a  fishing  line. 

The  waters  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake  are  so  salty  that 
thousands  of  tons  of  salt  are  made  by  evaporation  along 
the  shores  of  the  lake ;  and  there  is  so  much  soda  in  the 
water  that,  at  one  place  near  Salt  Lake,  a  windy  night 
never  fails  to  pile  up  many  tons  of  soda,  washed  there  by 
the  waves. 

The  Great  Salt  Lake  contains  so  much  salt  that  no  fish 
and  few  other  living  things  can  exist  in  it.  As  we  lie  with 
our  arms  folded,  floating  upon  it,  we  need  not  be  afraid  of  a 
shark  nipping  off  our  legs;  and  as  we  tread  through  it, 
neither  fish  nor  crabs  will  bite  at  our  toes.  We  might  fish 
here  for  years  and  never  get  a  bite.  Still,  some  of  the 
streams  that  flow  into  the  lake  are  full  of  delicious  brook 

CARP.   N.  AM.  —  17 


264 


CALIFORNIA. 


Bathing  in  Great  Salt  Lake. 

trout,  and  were  we  to  follow  the  little  river  Jordan  from 
its  mouth  in  this  lake  up  to  its  source  at  Utah  Lake,  we 
should  find  there  one  of  the  prettiest  fresh-water  lakes  in 
America. 


XXXV.      THE    FAIRYLAND     OF    CALIFORNIA. 

CRAVING  Salt  Lake,  we  continue  our  ride  over  the 
dusty  plains  and  great  mountains.  We  cross  the 
state  of  Nevada,  noted  chiefly  for  its  silver  and  gold  mines, 
into  California,  and  then,  shooting  down  the  timbered 
sides  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  find  ourselves  at  the  city  of 
Sacramento,  in  one  of  a  series  of  valleys  which  make  up 
a  great  part  of  the  fairyland  of  California. 

After  our  long  and  dusty  ride  over  the  rocky,  thirsty 


A    DELIGHTFUL   CLIMATE. 


265 


highlands,  California  is  wonderfully  refreshing.  There  is 
no  section  of  the  United  States  for  which  nature  has  done 
so  much.  There  are  parts  of  California  in  which  it  is  sum 
mer  all  the  year  round.  The  flowers  always  bloom,  and 
the  trees  are  always  green.  In  the  city  of  Los  Angeles 
they  sometimes  have  a  festival  of  roses  to  celebrate  the  New 
Year,  and  on  Christmas  morning  you  could  there  go  out 
to  the  shore  and  take  a  bath  in  the  ocean,  come  back  and 
set  the  table  for  your  Christmas  dinner  under  the  orange 
trees,  and  in  the  afternoon,  by  a  short  railroad  ride,  be  up 
among  the  snows,  under  some  of  the  finest  Christmas  trees 
in  the  world,  on  the  tops  of  the  mountains. 

Our  trip  through  California  makes  us  think  of  Christ 
mas,  for  we  see  again  and  again  many  of  the  very  things 
we  then  find  in  our  stockings.  We  travel  through  regions 
in  which  delicious  English  walnuts  hang  from  the  trees,  and 


Almond  Trees  in  Bloom. 


266 


CALIFORNIA. 


. 


A  Rose  Bush  in  California. 


we  see  orchards  loaded  with  almonds.     There  are  oranges 
bigger  and  sweeter  than  those  we  ate  in  Florida.     There 

are  lemon  trees  by  the 
thousands,  and  we  ride 
for  miles  through  vine 
yards  of  the  choicest 
grapes.  When  we  eat 
our  mince  pie  or  plum 
pudding  at  our  next 
Christmas  dinner,  we 
may  have  some  of  the 
very  raisins  which  we 
now  see  as  grapes  on 
the  vines.  We  are  sur 
prised  to  learn  that 

many  of  the  raisin  grapes  are  green  in  color.     They  are 
of  the  variety  known  as  the  white  muscat,  and  they  turn 
purple  only  when,  having  been  cured  in  the  sun,  they  be 
come  dried  raisins. 
Do  you  like  prunes? 

California  has  thousands  of  trees  on  which  they  grow. 
Prunes  are  a  species  of  plum,  and  they  are  far  more  deli 
cious  as  they  hang  on  the  trees  than  when  dried  and  packed 
away  in  boxes  for  sale. 

We  see  olive  groves  here  and  there.  Olive  trees  are 
knotty  and  gnarly.  The  fruit  on  them  looks  like  green 
plums,  and  we  make  wry  faces  as  we  bite  into  it.  Olives 
must  be  pickled  before  they  are  ready  for  eating.  The 
fruit  is  gathered  very  carefully.  Women  and  men,  and 
sometimes  boys  and  girls,  do  the  picking.  Some  stretch 
out  sheets  under  the  trees,  while  others  climb  up  the 
trunks  and  shake  the  branches  so  that  the  olives  fall  down 
into  the  sheets.  After  being  picked,  the  olives  are  sorted. 


OLIVES   AND   FIGS. 


26; 


Those  which  are  large  and  sound  are  kept  for  pickling, 
while  the  bruised  ones  are  crushed  and  pressed  to  squeeze 
out  the  oil  which  we  use  on  our  tables  for  salads. 

Olive  trees  are  planted  in  orchards,  in  rocky  and  sandy 
places.  The  trees  are  first  sprouted  from  cuttings  in  hot 
houses,  then  transplanted,  and  in  seven  or  eight  years 
they  begin  to  bear  fruit.  At  ten  years  a  good  tree  should 
produce  five  gallons  of  olives  a  year ;  and  when  fully 
grown  it  sometimes  produces  ten  times  as  much. 


Olive-Oil  Works. 

Have  you  ever  tasted  fresh  figs  ?  As  they  hang  upon 
the  trees  they  are  twice  as  large  as  when  dried  and  pressed 
into  boxes.  They  are  as  sweet  as  honey,  and  very  deli 
cious  when  eaten  with  cream.  Fig  trees  grow  in  many 
parts  of  California,  and  we  are  shown  single  trees  which 
have  yielded  a  thousand  pounds  a  year. 


268 


CALIFORNIA. 


English  walnuts  are  planted  in  orchards.  The  trees 
begin  to  bear  at  the  end  of  six  years,  and  some  trees  yield 
from  eight  to  ten  dollars'  worth  of  nuts  every  year. 
When  the  nuts  are  ripe,  they  are  shaken  or  knocked  from 
the  tree,  and  packed  for  shipping. 

The  first  men  who  came  to  California  were  miners ;  but 
after  a  time  it  was  found  that  the  land  would  grow  wheat 
and  other  grains,  and  that  it  would  produce  more  and  bet 
ter  fruits  of  some  kinds  than  any  other  part  of  our  coun 
try.  It  was  found  that  the  driest  of  the  lands  would  raise 
good  crops  if  they  could  only  have  water.  So  large  irri 
gation  works  were  established,  and  by  them  California  has 
been  turned  into  one  of  the  most  wonderful  grain  farms 
and  fruit  gardens  in  the  world.  There  are  thousands  of 
small  farms,  of  ten  acres  or  less,  upon  which  people  make 
a  living.  The  land  produces  so  much  that  twenty  acres  is 


A  Vineyard  in  California. 


BIG   FARMS.  269 

quite  enough  for  one  man,  and  a  person  who  has  an  orange 
grove  of  forty  acres  is  well  to  do. 

You  must  not  think,  however,  that  all  the  farms  of  Cali 
fornia  are  small.  There  are  some  in  the  state  which  are 
very  large.  The  Vina  Ranch,  which  was  given  by  Sena 
tor  Leland  Stanford  to  the  Leland  Stanford  Junior  Uni 
versity,  contains  fifty-nine  thousand  acres.  It  is  bigger 
than  five  hundred  of  the  ordinary  eastern  farms  of  one 
hundred  acres  each ;  and  you  will  get  an  idea  of  its  extent 
when  I  tell  you  that  its  irrigating  canals  are  one  hundred 
miles  longer  than  the  distance  between  New  York  and 
Washington. 

This  farm  is  north  of  San  Francisco.  When  I  visited  it, 
there  were  thirty  thousand  sheep  nibbling  upon  it,  and 
about  them  were  playing  seven  thousand  little  lambs  which 
had  been  born  that  year.  In  another  place  I  saw  a  drove 
of  thousands  of  hogs,  and  there  were  many  hundreds  of 
valuable  horses.  It  takes  a  large  number  of  people  to 
manage  a  farm  of  this  kind.  There  were  fifteen  hundred 
men  working  upon  it,  and  I  rode  from  camp  to  camp,  in 
different  parts  of  the  farm,  to  see  how  they  lived.  They 
slept  in  sheds,  or  barracks,  many  men  in  one  large  room. 
The  men  of  each  camp  ate  together.  Their  meals  were 
cooked  by  Chinese  cooks ;  and  after  the  day's  work  was 
over  they  played  baseball  and  other  games,  and  amused 
themselves  by  dancing  with  one  another. 

Such  a  farm  is  managed  like  a  large  business  establish-' 
ment.  An  account  of  everything  is  kept,  every  man 
knows  just  what  he  has  to  do,  and  the  work  is  divided  up 
into  departments. 

An  interesting  part  of  this  farm  is  the  vineyard,  which, 
I  was  told,  is  the  largest  in  the  world.  It  produces  enough 
grapes  each  year  to  give  a  half-pound  to  every  man, 


270 


CALIFORNIA. 


Gathering  Grapes. 


woman,  and  child  in  the  United  States.  If  you  could 
imagine  a  whole  county  covered  with  grapevines,  you 
might  get  some  idea  of  it. 

The  vineyard  is  divided  up  into  blocks,  just  like  a  city, 
being  cut  up  by  streets  and  cross  streets.  The  grapes  are 
ripe  about  the  1st  of  August,  when  it  requires  one  thou 
sand  men  and  boys  to  pick  them.  Two  pickers  work  to 
gether,  each  carrying  a  box,  and  sorting  the  grapes  as  they 
go  from  vine  to  vine,  putting  the  poor  grapes  into  one  box 
and  the  good  ones  into  another. 

Is  not  this  a  wonderful  state?  Almost  anything  will 
grow  better  in  California  than  in  the  eastern  part  of  our 


THE    BIG   TREES. 


271 


country.  Beets  are  raised,  in  some  parts  of  the  state, 
which  will  weigh  as  much  as  a  good-sized  boy ;  and 
pumpkins  have  been  grown  which  have  weighed  two  hun 
dred  and  seventy-five  pounds,  or  as  much  as  a  full-grown 
pig.  There  are  elderberry  bushes  in  the  southern  part  of 
California  which  have  trunks  from  one  to  two  feet  in 
thickness ;  and  there  is  one  rose  bush  at  Pasadena  which 
is  said  to  have  one  hundred  thousand  blossoms  at  one  time. 

The  biggest  trees  in  the  world  are  to  be  found  on  the 
^western  slopes  of  the  Sierra  Nevada.  Within  a  hundred 
and  thirty  miles  of  San  Francisco,  in  Calaveras  county, 
California,  there  are  groves  of  trees  some  of  which  are  so 
big  that  you  could  build  a 
very  large  schoolroom  inside 
of  them.  Some  of  these  trees 
are  two  thirds  as  high  as  the 
Washington  Monument,  and 
the  top  of  one  of  them  seems 
almost  to  pierce  the  clouds,  for 
it  is  between  three  and  four 
hundred  feet  above  the  ground. 

Many  of  our  houses  are  not 
more  than  thirty  feet  in  width. 
There  is  one  of  these  trees 
which  is  forty-one  feet  in 
thickness,  and  if  it  could  be 
hollowed  out,  you  could  make 
a  large  house  inside  its  bark. 
Through  the  trunk  of  another 
tree  a  hole  has  been  cut.  This 
hole  is  so  wide  that  we  can  easily  drive  through  it  in  a 
carriage,  and  as  we  look  at  the  bark,  we  see  that  it  is  almost 
a  yard  thick. 


A  Big  Tree. 


2/2 


CALIFORNIA. 


The  big  trees  are  evergreens,  related  to  the  cedars.  They 
have  foliage  much  like  that  of  the  cedars  found  in 
other  parts  -of  the  country,  and  the  cones  which  grow 
upon  them  are  usually  not  much  larger  than  a  good 
sized  hen's  egg.  They  do  not  usually  grow  by  them 
selves,  but  among  other  trees,  and  they  tower  like  giants 
over  the  smaller  pines  below.  They  seem  to  increase 
in  size  as  we  come  nearer,  and  at  last,  when  we  stand 
under  them  and  look  upward,  their  tops  seem  almost  to 
touch  the  sky.  It  is  hard  to  realize  that  they  were  once 
only  little  sprouts  pushing  their  way  up  through  the  ground. 


Yosemite  Valley. 

That  must  have  been  a  long  time  ago,  must  it  not? 
Yes,  indeed.  Some  of  them  are  said  to'  be  as  much  as 
twelve  hundred  years  old.  They  were  eight  hundred 


THE   YOSEMITE   VALLEY. 


273 


years  old  when  Columbus  discovered  America ;  and  they 
were  quite  big  trees  many,  many  years  before  that  time. 

These  trees  are  very  valuable  for  their  lumber.  The 
wood  is  light,  soft,  and  coarse-grained ;  but  it  takes  a  high 
polish,  and  there  is  so  much  lumber  in  a  single  tree  that 
some  have  sold  for  thousands  of  dollars.  Congress  has, 
however,  now  taken  some  of  the  groves  into  one  of  the 
government  reservations,  and  has  decided  that  they  shall 
be  kept  for  all  time  as  one  of  the  wonders  of  our  country. 

Another  great  wonder  of  California  is  the  Yosemite 
National  Park,  which  lies  in  almost  the  center  of  the  state. 
This  park  contains  the  Yosemite  Valley,  which  is  an  ir 
regular  trough  sunken  almost  a  mile  below  the  region 
about  it.  The  scenery  of  the  valley  is  grand,  and  among 
its  most  marvelous  fea 
tures  are  the  Yosemite 
Falls. 

At  Niagara  Falls  we 
saw  how  the  Niagara 
River  made  its  immense 
drop  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  feet.  In  the 
falls  of  the  Yosemite 
a  branch  of  the  Merced 
River  leaps  over  the 
rocks  down  into  the 
valley.  It  first  takes 
a  jump  of  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  mile 
straight  down  from  the 
top  of  a  cliff,  then  falls 
a  distance  of  six  hundred  feet  in  a  succession  of  beautiful 
cascades,  and  then  drops  to  the  bottom  of  the  valley.  . 


Mirror  Lake,  Yosemite  Valley. 


274  CALIFORNIA. 

One  of  the  falls  of  the  Yosemite  is  known  as  the  Bridal 
Veil.  The  water  in  this  drops  down  a  distance  almost  one 
hundred  feet  greater  than  the  height  of  the  Washington 
Monument.  As  it  falls  it  is  swayed  by  the  wind  and 
turned  to  a  spray,  making  it  look  like  a  fleecy  white  veil, 
which,  when  the  sun  strikes  it,  becomes  a  sheet  of  rainbows. 


XXXVI.    SAN  FRANCISCO  AND  THE  CHINESE. 

THE  large  cities  of  the  Pacific  slope  are  to  be  found  at 
the  western  ends  of  the  railroads  crossing  the  continent. 
Most  of  them  have  harbors  on  the  coast,  so  that  goods  can 
be  easily  shipped  to  and  from  them  by  sea  as  well  as  by 
land. 

At  the  south  is  Los  Angeles,  at  the  end  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad,  which  starts  at  New  Orleans,  and  passes 
through  Louisiana,  Texas,  New  Mexico,  and  Arizona,  on 
its  way  to  California.  Los  Angeles  is  so  beautiful,  and 
is  surrounded  by  such  a  beautiful  country,  that  it  is 
well  named  the  "City  of  the  Angels."  It  is  a  thriving 
place,  with  wide  streets  lined  with  shade  trees.  It  has 
fine  parks  and  gardens  filled  with  beautiful  flowers.  There/ 
are  orange  trees  and  palms  in  the  front  yards ;  there  are 
hedges  of  calla  lilies,  and  also  geranium  bushes  which 
sometimes  grow  to  a  height  of  ten  feet.  We  now  and  then 
see  a  banana  or  lemon  tree  and  find  fresh  tropical  fruit 
sold  in  the  markets.  Indeed,  the  climate  of  Los  Angeles 
is  so  delightful  and  its  surroundings  are  so  beautiful  that 
many  rich  people  come  here  to  live. 

A  day's  ride  by  train  farther  north  is  San  Francisco, 
at  the  end  of  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad,  by  which  we 


SAN    FRANCISCO. 


275 


crossed  Colorado,  Utah,  and  Nevada,  on  our  way  to  Cali 
fornia.      San  Francisco  has  been  called  the  "  Child  of  the 


San  Francisco. 

Mines."  When  gold  was  discovered,  it  consisted  of  a  few 
shanties  built  upon  sand  hills  near  the  shores  of  the  beau 
tiful  San  Francisco  Bay.  It  is  now  one  of  our  largest 
and  finest  cities.  It  does  a  vast  deal  of  manufacturing  for 
'Jthe  Pacific  coast.  It  is  one  of  the  great  shipping  ports  of 
the  world,  and  we  see  at  its  docks  vessels  from  Asia, 
Europe,  and  Australia.  There  are  ships  here  which  have 
come  ten  thousand  miles  round  Cape  Horn  from  New 
York,  and  there  are  whaling  ships  ready  to  start  out  on 
their  cruises  to  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

We  find  San  Francisco  anything  but  a  town  of  shanties 
to-day.     The   sand  hills  have  been  cut  down,  and  fine 


276  CALIFORNIA. 

buildings  have  taken  their  places.  The  residence  parts  of 
the  city  are  magnificent.  Some  of  the  richest  people  of 
the  United  States  live  here,  and  we  ride  on  cable  cars  up 
Nob  Hill,  past  the  houses  of  millionaires  who  have  made 
their  fortunes  out  of  gold  mines,  the  vast  wheatfields,  and 
the  fruit  and  other  industries  of  the  Pacific  slope. 

Some  of  the  poorer  people  of  San  Francisco  interest  us 
even  more  than  the  rich.  These  are  the  Chinese.  There 
are  more  of  them  in  San  Francisco  than  in  any  other  part 
of  the  United  States.  We  see  them  everywhere  on  the 
streets.  What  queer-looking  people  they  are,  and  how 
curiously  they  dress !  They  have  yellow  complexions,  and 
their  little  black  eyes  look  out  of  what  seem  slanting  slits 
in  their  faces.  They  are  dressed  in  long  gowns  of  bright 
cotton  or  silk,  and  some  of  them  wear  little  round  skull 
caps  with  a  bright  button  on  the  crown. 

There  is  a  Chinaman  who  has  his  hat  off!  See!  his 
head  is  shaved  up  to  the  crown,  leaving  a  place  for  the 
hair  to  grow  that  is  not  bigger  than  the  bottom  of  a  tea 
cup.  His  hair  is  nicely  braided,  and  his  braid,  or  cue,  is 
so  long  that  it  reaches  almost  to  the  ground. 

There  is  a  Chinese  woman.  Her  eyes  are  just  like 
those  of  the  men,  but  her  yellow  face  is  painted  and  pow 
dered.  Her  head  is  bare,  for  Chinese  women  do  not  wear 
bonnets  and  hats  as  our  women  do.  They  do  not  cut  off 
their  hair  like  the  Chinese  men,  but  comb  it  in  rolls  and 
braids,  putting  it  up  in  ways  which  seem  very  strange. 

Notice  how  that  woman  walks.  She  is  hardly  able  to 
totter  along.  That  is  because  of  her  small  feet,  which  are 
covered  by  her  little  red  satin  shoes.  When  she  was  a 
little  girl  her  feet  were  so  bound  up  that  they  could  not 
grow,  and  the  shoes  she  wears  would  be  tight  on  the  feet 
of  an  American  four-year-old  girl. 


SAN   FRANCISCO. 


We  see  more  men,  however,  than  women.  Most  of  the 
Chinese  who  come  to  America  leave  their  wives  and 
daughters  at  home.  There  are  quarters  of  the  city  in 
which  thousands  of  Chinese  men  live.  They  are  packed 


Chinese  Restaurant  — San  Francisco. 

away  at  night  in  large  buildings,  scores  of  them  often 
sleeping  in  the  same  room.  We  see  them  on  the  streets 
doing  different  kinds  of  work ;  and  did  we  go  into  the 
kitchens  of  our  hotel,  we  should  find  that  most  of  the  serv 
ants  are  men  of  this  yellow  race.  Many  of  the  China 
men  act  as  cooks ;  many  are  employed  on  the  fruit  farms 
and  vineyards ;  others  have  laundries,  and  a  number  have 
Chinese  stores  in  that  part  of  San  Francisco  where  the  most 
of  the  Chinese  live.  Not  all  are  poor.  They  are  a  very 
thrifty  people,  and  some  of  the  storekeepers  are  quite 


2/8  THE    PACIFIC   NORTHWEST. 

wealthy.  Even  the  common  workmen  save  their  money. 
They  work  for  low  wages,  and  can  live  on  a  few  cents  a 
day.  When  they  have  saved  a  certain  sum  of  money  they 
go  back  to  China  to  live,  taking  their  money  with  them. 

For  a  time  the  United  States  allowed  the  Chinese  to 
come  here  ;  but  so  many  of  them  were  brought  across  the 
Pacific  that  our  people  became  afraid  that  they  would  do 
all  the  work.  It  cost  them  so  little  to  live  that  they  could 
work  much  more  cheaply  than  white  men,  and  China  has 
so  many  people  that  millions  might  come  away  and  not  be 
missed.  And  then,  the  Chinese  who  came  did  not  seem 
to  adopt  our  ways;  and  hence  the  government  has  con 
cluded  that,  since  they  are  not  likely  to  make  desirable 
citizens,  no  more  Chinese  laborers  can  come  into  the  coun 
try.  Those  who  were  already  here  at  the  time  this  conclu 
sion  was  reached  are  allowed  to  stay ;  but  all  ships  coming 
from  Asia  are  now  carefully  watched,  and  the  Chinese 
working  people  upon  them  are  not  permitted  to  land. 


XXXVII.     THE    PACIFIC    NORTHWEST. 

WE  will  now  go  by  rail  from  San  Francisco  to  Port 
land,  at  one  of  the  western  ends  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad,  which  crosses  the  United  States  from  St. 
Paul.  Leaving  San  Francisco,  we  are  soon  passing  through 
the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  so  noted  for  its  wheat  crops  that 
it  is  called  the  granary  of  the  state.  We  spend  a  day  in 
riding  about  the  slope  of  Mount  Shasta,  a  wonderful  snow 
capped,  extinct  volcano,  and  then  go  northward  into 
Oregon. 

We  are  now  in  an  entirely  new  section  of  the  United 


OREGON. 


279 


Lumbering  in  Oregon. 

States.  We  are  in  what  is  known  as  the  Pacific  North 
west,  which  is  composed  of  the  rich  states  of  Oregon  and 
Washington.  These  states  are  much  warmer  than  those 
in  the  same  latitude  upon  the  Atlantic  coast.  Oregon  is 
far  warmer  than  Massachusetts.  It  seldom  snows  in  Wash 
ington  west  of  the  Cascade  Ranges,  and  its  people  have 
called  it  the  "Evergreen  State." 

How  can  this  be,  and  the  states  be  so  far  north? 

It  is  because  of  the  Japanese  Current.  You  have  heard 
of  the  warm  ocean  current,  known  as  the  Gulf  Stream, 
which  flows  up  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  through  the  At 
lantic  Ocean.  The  Japanese  Current  is  a  stream  of  the  same 
kind  in  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  begins  near  the  coast  of  China, 
flows  north  about  Japan,  then  crosses  to  the  lower  part  of 

CARP.   N.   A.M.  — 1 8 


280  THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST. 

Alaska,  and  flows  down  by  Puget  Sound.  Its  waters  act 
like  a  hot-water  furnace.  They  heat  the  air  above  them, 
which  blows  on  the  west  coasts  of  America  and  keeps 
warm  the  shores  of  southern  Alaska  and  also  Washington 
and  Oregon.  For  this  reason  there  is  but  little  snow  in 
these  states.  Most  of  the  rains  which  fall  are  warm,  and  the 
moist  climate  covers  the  earth  with  a  luxuriant  vegetation. 

Some  of  the  largest  trees  in  our  country  are  to  be  found 
in  the  Pacific  Northwest.  In  Washington  there  are  miles 
of  forest  trees,  which  shoot  up  as  high  as  a  very  tall 
church  steeple  before  they  put  out  a  branch,  and  then  go 
upward  with  branches  perhaps^  a  hundred  feet  higher. 
Some  of  these  big- trees  are  hollow,  and  a  story  is  told  of 
a  Washington  farmer  who  used  one  of  them  as  a  house 
while  clearing  his  farm.  The  hole  in  the  tree  was  twenty- 
two  feet  in  diameter;  it  was  forty  feet  high,  and  a  knot 
hole  near  the  top  formed  his  chimney.  He  put  a  floor  in 
side  the  tree  eight  feet  above  the  earth,  and  upon  this,  the 
second  story,  lived  with  his  family,  while  he  used  the 
space  beneath,  or  the  ground  floor,  as  a  stable  for  his  horse 
and  cow. 

Some  of  the  best  timber  in  the  world  comes  from  this 
region.  Shingles  are  made  by  the  millions,  and  shipped 
to  the  East.  The  long  trees  are  cut  into  logs  and  exported 
to  other  countries,  many  of  them  being  used  as  masts  and 
spars  for  vessels. 

Both  Washington  and  Oregon  are  rich  farming  and 
stock-raising  states.  They  produce  great  quantities  of 
fine  wheat.  Large  crops  of  barley,  flax,  and  hops,  and  all 
the  vegetables  and  fruits  of  the  temperate  zone  are  grown. 
The  states  are  rich  in  coal  and  iron,  and  they  have  also 
large  deposits  of  gold  and  silver.  We  see  that  the  people 
are  everywhere  prosperous.  Many  of  the  farmers  have 


OREGON. 


28l 


large  droves  of  sheep.  New  lands  are  being  brought  into 
cultivation,  and  the  country  is  being  rapidly  settled.  There 
are  numerous  villages,  and  we  can  visit  many  large  towns. 

We  spend  a  few  days  in  Portland.  It  is  situated  on  the 
Willamette  River,  twelve  miles  above  the  Columbia  River, 
and  is  a  great  lumber,  commercial,  and  manufacturing  cen 
ter.  Its  business  buildings  will  compare  favorably  with 
those  of  any  of  our  eastern  cities,  and  it  steadily  grows  in 
size  and  wealth. 

From  Portland  we  take  a  sail  up  the  Columbia  River  to' 
see  something  of  some  of  our  best  fishing  grounds.  Have 
you  ever  eaten  Columbia  salmon?  It  is  sold  in  cans  in 
almost  every  grocery  store.  It  is  delicious  when  eaten 


Fishing  for  Salmon. 

with  a  little  lemon  juice,  or  made  into  a  salad.  Fresh  salm 
on  is  far  better,  and  at  our  breakfast  on  the  boat  we 
order  salmon  steaks.  The  fish  are  so  large  that  they  are 
sometimes  served  in  this  form,  and  we  eat  great  slices  of 


282  THE    PACIFIC    NORTHWEST. 

the  yellowish-red  fish  which  is  brought  smoking  hot  to  the 
table. 

The  salmon  spend  the  most  of  the  year  in  the  salt 
waters  of  the  ocean.  In  the  summer  they  come  into  the 
rivers  to  lay  their  eggs,  and  at  certain  times  the  Columbia 
is  almost  filled  with  them.  They  move  in  droves  up  the 
river,  and  are  caught  by  nets  and  traps  in  great  numbers. 
In  a  single  year  several  millions  of  pounds  of  these  fish  are 
caught.  Within  the  past  thirty  years  it  is  said  that  salmon 
to  the  value  of  seventy  million  dollars  have  been  taken 
out  of  the  Columbia  River.  They  are  cooked  and  canned 
and  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  It  takes  only  three 
ordinary  salmon  to  fill  four  dozen  one-pound  cans. 


Fish  Wheel. 


SEATTLE   AND   TACOMA.  283 

The  fishermen  are  for  the  most  part  white  men,  though 
a  few  are  Indians.  In  some  parts  of  the  river,  where 
the  currents  are  swift,  fish  wheels  are  used.  Sometimes 
such  wheels  are  fastened  to  the  end  of  a  boat  which  is 
anchored  at  the  right  spot.  The  wheel  is  much  like  a 
mill  wheel,  save  that  wire  nets  are  fastened  to  its  rim,  and, 
as  the  wheel  turns  and  the  nets  strike  the  water,  the  fish 
are  caught  by  them.  The  wheel,  going  on,  lifts  the  fish 
up  and  slides  them  down  into  a  trough,  through  which 
they  fall  into  the  boat.  One  night,  not  long  ago,  one 
wheel  of  this  kind,  fastened  to  a  vessel,  caught  enough 
fish  to  sink  the  vessel,  or  fifteen  tons  of  fish,  in  twelve 
hours.  This,  Oregon  people  say,  is  a  true  fish  story. 

Coming  back  to  Portland,  we  again  take  the  cars,  and 
a  day's  ride  to  the  north  brings  us  to  Puget  Sound.  Here 
we  visit  the  cities  of  Tacoma  and  Seattle,  on  the  eastern 
shore  of  Puget  Sound,  sometimes  called  the  "  Mediter 
ranean  of  the  Pacific."  Within  plain  view  of  both  is  Mount 
Rainier,  or  Tacoma,  one  of  the  highest  peaks  of  the  West. 

The  summer  of  these  cities  is  about  as  cool  as  that  of 
St.  Paul,  and  the  winters  are  as  wrarm  as  those  of  Ten 
nessee.  Such  snow  as  falls  is  almost  immediately  melted 
by  the  warm  winds  from  the  ocean.  The  summer  days 
are  clear  and  bright,  and  the  location  of  the  cities  so  far 
north  gives  them  a  long  twilight  during  a  part  of  the  year. 

Both  Seattle  and  Tacoma  have  all  the  improvements  of 
our  best  eastern  towns.  They  have  fine  libraries  and 
schools.  They  have  good  stores,  and  do  a  large  commer 
cial  and  manufacturing  business.  They  are  located  on 
excellent  harbors,  and  we  can  find  ships  at  their  wharves 
which  will  take  us  to  almost  any  part  of  the  world. 

From  these  ports  steamers  sail  regularly  for  Alaska ; 
and,  a  little  later  on,  we  shall  take  a  trip  northward  to  learn 


284  YELLOWSTONE    PARK. 

something  of  that  curious  land,  the  last  of  our  territories. 
But  before  taking  ship,  there  is  still  another  very  interest 
ing  and  wonderful  region  in  this  western  part  of  our  coun 
try  which  we  must  visit.  Let  us  take  a  side  trip  five 
hundred  miles  southeastward,  and  see  some  of  the  won 
ders  of  the  Yellowstone  National  Park,  in  the  heart  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  highland. 


XXXVIII.    THE   YELLOWSTONE    NATIONAL 
PARK. 

THE  Yellowstone  Park  is  in  the  northwest  corner  of 
the  state  of  Wyoming,  just  about  midway  between 
St.  Paul  and  Portland,  Oregon.     You  must  not  think  it  is 
little  because  it  is  called  a  park.     The  Yellowstone  Park 
is  almost  as  big  as  the  state  of  Connecticut.      It  is  owned 


View  in  Yellowstone  Park. 


THE    HOT   SPRINGS.  285 

by  the  government,  and  Congress  has  decided  that  men 
must  never  use  any  of  it  for  farming,  but  that  it  must 
always  be  kept  as  a  great  park,  belonging  to  you  and  me 
and  to  the  other  people  of  the  United  States  in  common. 
This  is  because  it  is  so  full  of  natural  wonders. 

The  Yellowstone  Park,  at  its  lowest  point,  is  more  than 
a  mile  above  the  sea ;  and  there  are  mountains  about  it 
which  are  more  than  two  miles  in  height.  The  surface  of 
the  park  is  a  rolling  plateau,  parts  of  which  are  covered 
with  woods,  while  in  other  parts  are  wonderful  cliffs  and 
deep,  yawning  canyons. 

The  most  curious  features  of  this  region  are  its  geysers 
and  hot  springs.  There  are  more  than  a  thousand  such  in 
the  park.  There  are  five  hundred  hot  springs  which  are 
always  boiling  up  water  and  mud.  The  water  and  mud 
contain  different  kinds  of  minerals,  and  as  they  fall  back 
they  leave  a  sediment,  which  in  time  builds  up  wonderful 
structures  of  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow. 

There  is  one  hot  spring  which  has  formed  a  white  hill 
about  it  more  than  two  hundred  feet  high.  As  the  water 
flows  over  the  top  of  the  hill,  it  falls  into  one  semicircular 
basin  after  another  built  up  by  the  sediment.  Some  of 
these  basins  are  only  a  few  inches  deep,  and  others  have 
a  depth  of  six  or  eight  feet.  The  mineral  matter  crystal 
lizing  from  the  water  which  flows  over  the  sides  of  these 
basins  has  painted  upon  them  all  shades  of  blue,  scarlet, 
green,  and  yellow.  It  has  frescoed  some  with  lacework, 
and  given  other  portions  the  appearance  of  having  been 
embroidered  with  beads.  The  water  at  the  top  is  boiling 
hot.  It  grows  cooler  as  it  falls  from  basin  to  basin,  so 
that,  starting  at  the  bottom,  we  could  have  a  bath  at  any 
temperature  by  merely  walking  up  to  the  top. 

What  would  you  think  of  a  spring  which  always  flowed 


286 


YELLOWSTONE    PARK. 


Hot  Springs. 

mineral  paint?  There  is  such  a  spring  in  the  Yellowstone 
Park,  which  boils  and  boils  until  it  has  made  a  great  paint 
pot  covering  more  than  an  acre.  The  paint  is  of  all  colors, 
and  it  bubbles  up  like  a  pot  of  hot  mush. 

Another  fountain  is  always  vomiting  forth  masses  of 
green,  slimy  mud  mixed  with  sulphur.  The  smell  of  this 
spring  is  so  sickening  that  you  must  put  your  handkerchief 
to  your  nose  as  soon  as  you  come  near  it. 

The  geysers  are  hot  springs  which  from  time  to  time 
throw  enormous  bodies  of  boiling  water  and  steam  into 
the  air.  Some  of  them  spout  every  year  or  so,  and  some 
every  few  minutes.  The  Grand  Geyser,  the  greatest  in 
the  world,  throws  a  volume  of  steam  and  boiling  water 
three  hundred  feet  into  the  air ;  and  another,  called  Old 
Faithful,  sends  up  an  immense  volume  of  steam  and  boil 
ing  water  as  high  as  a  very  high  church  steeple  every 
hour.  Old  Faithful  keeps  spouting  for  several  minutes,  and 
the  water  falls  back  in  clouds  of  steam  and  spray.  There 


THE   GEYSERS. 


287 


are  other  geysers  which  throw  up  quantities  of  mud,  and 
the  most  of  the  geysers  build  up  stony  foundations  about 
them,  formed  of  the  minerals  which  are  in  their  water. 

Another  wonder  of -the 
Yellowstone  Park  is  the 
Yellowstone  River  and  its 
canyons.  At  one  place  the 
waters  of  this  river  have  a 
fall  of  three  hundred  feet, 
or  almost  twice  that  of  the 
American  Falls  at  Niagara. 
They  go  through  a  gorge,  or 
canyon,  far  more  wonder 
ful  than  that  of  the  Niagara 
River.  The  walls  of  the 
canyon  are  a  third  of  a  mile 
high,  and  the  rocks  which 
compose  them  are  of  such 
colors  that  the  river  seems 
to  flow  between  walls  of 
precious  stones.  There  are 
tons  of  rock  as  white  as 
crystal,  great  pieces  of 
stone  which  shine  like  am 
ethyst,  and  here  and  there 
rocks  which  glitter  like  dia 
monds  in  the  sun.  Halfway 
down  the  walls  of  the  can 
yon  there  are  ledges  upon 

which  the  eagles  have  built  their  nests ;  and  if  we  look  care 
fully  we  may  perhaps  see  the  young  eagles  in  them. 

These  are  only  a  few  wonders  of  the  Yellowstone  Park. 
We  hardly  dare  describe  this  curious  region,  for  fear  peo- 


288 


YELLOWSTONE    PARK. 


pie  may  think  of  us  as  they  did  of  a  preacher  who  once 
visited  the  Park,  and,  upon  going  home,  gave  a  lec 
ture  upon  it  to  his  congregation.  The  people  listened 
quietly  until  he  said  that  he  stood  upon  a  rock  by  the  beau 
tiful  Yellowstone  Lake,  and  caught  a  fish,  and  then,  with 
out  moving  his  position,  gave  his  fishing  rod  a  twist  and 
threw  the  fish,  still  hanging  to  the  hook,  into  a  boiling 
spring  behind  him  and  cooked  it.  As  he  said  this,  one  of 
the  deacons  arose,  and  asked  the  pastor  to  stop  right  there, 


The  Fish  Pot. 


saying:  "  We  have  listened  to-night  to  bigger  stories  than 
we  have  ever  heard  in  our  lives  before ;  but  that  last  one 
is  too  much  —  too  much!" 

The  story,  however,  might  easily  have  been  true.  Yel 
lowstone  Lake  is  as  clear  as  crystal.  Its  waters  are  cold, 
and  they  are  filled  with  fine  fish.  Upon  its  eastern  shore, 
only  a  few  feet  away  from  the  edge  of  the  water,  there  is 


FROM  THE  YELLOWSTONE  TO  PUGET  SOUND.   289 


a  deep  boiling  spring  called  the  Fish  Pot,  and  you  really 
could  catch  a  fish  and  thus  cook  it  without  changing  your 
position. 

But  it  is  time  now  to  re 
turn  to  the  Pacific  coast. 
We  can  go  on  the  Northern 
Pacific  or  the  Great  North 
ern  railroad  back  to  Taco- 
ma  through  a  succession  of 
interesting  scenes.  We  pass 
through  the  mining  regions 
of  Montana,  where  many 
millions  of  dollars  of  silver 
and  gold  are  obtained  every 
year.  Near  Butte  is  the 
famous  Anaconda  Mine, 
from  which  four  thousand 
tons  of  copper  ore  are 
shipped  daily — the  largest 
output  of  copper  in  the 
world.  We  cross  the  state 
of  Idaho  in  its  narrow  part, 
following  for  twenty-five  miles  the  north  shore  of  Lake 
Pend  Oreille,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  sheets  of  water 
in  the  world.  Travelers  say  that  its  scenery  very  much 
resembles  that  of  the  famous  Konigs-See  in  Bavaria. 

Before  reaching  Puget  Sound,  we  pass  through  Puyallup 
Valley,  celebrated  for  its  hop  fields.  The  cultivation  of 
hops  is  now  one  of  the  great  industries  of  the  state  of 
Washington.  During  the  hop  harvest  as  many  as  five 
thousand  Indians  come  on  ponies  from  beyond  the  moun 
tains,  or  in  canoes  up  Puget  Sound,  to  find  employment  in 
the  fields.  The  picking  of  the  hops  is  done  by  the  Indian 


Falls  of  the  Yellowstone. 


290 


AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 


A  Hop  Field. 

women  and  children,  while  the  braves  look  on,  and  smoke, 
and  trade  horses.  The  average  yearly  crop  of  hops  in 
Washington  is  worth  several  million  dollars. 


XXXIX.     AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

WE  find  Indians  not  only  in  the  hop  fields  of  Wash 
ington,  but  at  the  railroad  stations  in  the  West, 
where  they  have  come  to  sell  deer  and  buffalo  horns,  and 
moccasins  made  of  skins  and  embroidered  with  beads. 
What  queer  people  they  are,  and  how  sober  they  look  as 
they  squat  or  stand  about  the  depots,  with  their  merchan 
dise  in  their  hands !  Their  faces  are  of  a  reddish  or  copper 
color.  This  is  why  they  are  called  the  red  race.  They  have 


A    PAPOOSE. 


291 


long,  coarse  black  hair,  straight  noses,  high  cheek  bones, 
and  black  eyes.  Both  men  and  women  part  their  hair  in  the 
middle  and  wear  it  long. 

But  where  are  the  feath 
ers  which  we  usually  see 
on  the  Indian's  head  in  the 
pictures?  Very  few  In 
dians  wear  feathers  in  their  ffl 
hair  in  times  of  peace.  In 
dians  now  dress  much  like 
white  people,  except  that 
they  have  gaily  colored 
blankets  over  their  shoul 
ders.  Someof  the  men  wear 
soft  hats,  and  nearly  all  of 
them  have  on  pantaloons. 
The  women,  or  squaws, 
wear  dresses,  but  their 
heads  are  bare. 

Some  of  the  women 
have  curious  bundles  on 
their  backs.  The  bundles 
look  like  bags,  or  boxes 
made  in  the  shape  of  a 

little  coffin.  There  is  a  squaw  who  has  turned  about, 
and  we  can  see  her  bundle  more  plainly.  Notice  that  hole 
in  its  top  and  the  odd  little  brown  head  peeping  out  of  it. 
That  is  an  Indian  baby,  or  papoose.  See  how  sober  it  is. 
It  turns  its  head  about,  but  it  does  not  cry.  Indian 
babies  seldom  cry,  though  you  would  think  that  being 
squeezed  up  in  that  cramped  position  would  make  them 
do  so.  When  the  mother  goes  home  she  takes  the  baby 
off  her  back,  and  stands  its  curious  cradle  up  against 


A  Papoose. 


292 


AMONG   THE    INDIANS 


a  log  or  the  side  of  the  house  until  she  is  ready  to  take 
it  again. 

But  where  do  the  Indians  come  from?  When  Colum 
bus  discovered  America  there  were  Indians  all  over  this 
continent.  They  were  the  only  people  on  this  side  of 
the  world.  There  were  not  very  many  of  them,  however, 

and  it  is  said  that  there 
were  not  half  as  many  In 
dians  in  our  entire  coun 
try  as  there  are  now  peo 
ple  in  Chicago. 

When  our  forefathers 
landed  on  the  Atlantic 
coast,  they  made  treaties 
with  the  Indians  by  which 
they  got  some  land.  Then 
there  were  Indian  wars, 
and,  step  by  step,  the 
white  people  crowded  the 
Indians  westward.  They 
made  other  treaties  by 
which  they  paid  the  Indi 
ans  for  more  and  more  of 
their  lands,  until  now  all 

of  the  country  which  the  Indians  have  left  is  but  a  small 
part  of  their  original  territory.  This  land  is  chiefly  in  the 
West,  and  a  large  part  of  it  is  among  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains.  It  is  divided  up  into  many  tracts,  called  reserva 
tions,  each  reservation  belonging  to  one  tribe,  or  nation, 
of  Indians.  Some  Indians  live  no  longer  on  reservations, 
but  on  land  which  the  government  has  given  to  each 
Indian. 

And  are  there  many  different  kinds  of  Indians  ? 


Indian  Chief —  Black  Bear. 


THE    SAVAGES. 


293 


Yes,  indeed  ;  all  Indians  are  by  no  means  alike.  If  the 
boys  of  the  different  Indian  tribes  were  to  come  together, 
they  could  no  more  understand  one  another  than  American 
boys  could  understand  the  language  of  German,  French, 
or  Italian  children.  There  are  more  than  sixty  different 
Indian  languages  spoken  in  the  United  States,  and  the  only 
•way  some  tribes  have  of  communicating  with  other  tribes 
is  by  signs. 

There  is  also  a  great  difference  in  the  customs  of  the 
different  Indian  tribes.  Some  are  civilized,  and  a  few  are 
still  savage.  The  savage 
Indians  who  once  lived 
eastoftheMississippiare 
now  confined  to  some 
of  the  Western  reserva 
tions,  and  are  chiefly 
hunters  and  fishermen. 
They  farm  but  little,  and 
they  still  live  in  wig 
wams,  or  tents  made  of 
bark  or  skins.  They 
move  their  camps  from 
place  to  place,  and  their 
chief  wealth  is  in  their 
cattle  and  horses. 

The  savage  Indians 
were  in  former  times 
dangerous  and  cruel 
foes.  They  took  delight 

in  killing  women  and  children.  They  hid  behind  rocks  and 
bushes  to  fight.  Still,  when  they  were  cornered  they  would 
fight  to  the  death.  They  used  tomahawks  to  brain  their 
victims,  and  delighted  in  torturing  their  captives  and  in 


Indian  Chief 


294  AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

burning  them  at  the  stake.  They  scalped  the  men  they 
killed  in  battle ;  that  is,  they  cut  a  little  piece  of  skin, 
about  as  big  as  a  dollar,  out  of  the  crown  of  the  head  of 
each  man,  leaving  the  hair  on  so  that  they  could  tie  it  to 
their  belts.  It  was  a  great  honor  to  a  warrior  to  have 
taken  many  scalps. 

All  the  Indians  are  fond  of  children.  Among  the 
Chippewas,  who  live  in  Minnesota,  the  mother  has  the 
entire  control  of  the  children  until  they  are  almost  grown. 
The  mother  teaches  the  boys  and  girls  to  hunt  and  fish. 
They  are  taught  to  paddle  canoes,  and  Chippewa  boys  and 
girls  are  always  at  their  ease  on  the  water. 

The  children  of  this  tribe  choose  their  own  names. 
When  the  child  arrives  at  the  age  of  twelve  or  thirteen  he 
finds,  some  morning,  a  bowl  of  charcoal  placed  before  him 
instead  of  his  regular  food.  The  child  knows  at  once  what 
this  means.  It  means  that  he  must  go  off  into  the  woods 
and  fast.  He  remains  in  the  woods  until  he  falls  asleep, 
and  if  during  his  sleep  he  dreams  of  some  animal,  he 
chooses  the  name  of  that  animal  for  his  own  name,  and 
that  animal  is  considered  his  best  spirit.  Girls  and  boys 
of  this  tribe  are  often  married  before  they  are  fourteen, 
and  an  Indian  usually  chooses  a  good,  strong  girl  for  his 
wife ;  for  the  squaw  does  most  of  the  work,  and  a  sickly 
girl  is  looked  upon  as  being  of  little  account. 

Among  most  of  the  Indian  tribes,  a  brave  has  to  pay  a 
certain  number  of  ponies  for  his  wife ;  but  the  girls  have 
usually  the  right  to  choose  whether  they  will  be  married 
or  not.  Among  the  Osage  Indians,  who  now  live  in  Okla 
homa,  when  a  man  wants  to  marry  he  puts  on  his  best 
clothes,  mounts  his  finest  horse,  and  rides  about  the  girl's 
tent,  watching  her  day  after  day,  until  she  finally  goes  out 
and  speaks  to  him.  If  she  does  this,  he  knows  that  she 


THE  PUEBLOS. 


295 


will  accept  him  if  he  can  pay  the  price  to  her  father. 
Sometimes  a  man  can  get  a  good  wife  for  two  horses  and 
a  dozen  skins  ;  but  Indian  belles  have  been  known  to  bring 
as  much  as  two  rifles,  thirteen  horses,  and  a  gallon  of 
whisky. 

In  some  parts  of  the  Southwest  we  shall  find  Indians 
who  have  always  lived  in  towns,  and  whose  forefathers 
were  farmers  long  before  Columbus  discovered  America. 
There  are  no  queerer  towns  in  the  world  than  the  pueblos 
or  towns  of  the  Moqui  Indians  in  New  Mexico  and  Ari 
zona.  Often  you  will  see  a  little  flat-topped  hill  rising 
seven  or  eight  hundred  feet  above  the  rest  of  the  country. 
Upon  these  the  Indians  build  their  houses,  because  there 
they  are  safe  from  wild  animals  and  from  their  enemies. 


A  Pueblo. 


CARP.   N.  AM.  — 19 


296  AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

They  make  the  houses  of  stone  or  sun-dried  bricks,  and 
they  build  one  on  top  of  the  other,  in  great  terraces  or 
steps,  so  that  you  can  climb  from  house  to  house  on  lad 
ders.  In  some  of  the  pueblos  there  are  no  doors  to  the 
first  house,  and  you  have  to  go  up  a  ladder  and  get  on 
the  roof  before  you  can  come  to  the  ground  floor.  To  get 
to  the  second  house,  you  must  enter  from  the  roof  of  the 
first,  and  so  on. 

The  roofs  of  the  lower  houses  form  the  playgrounds  of 
the  children  above.  Many  of  the  pueblos  have  dogs  and 
cats ;  and  these  animals,  as  well  as  the  children,  climb  up 
and  down  ladders  and  steep  stone  steps,  going  with  the 
greatest  ease  from  roof  to  roof. 

Many  of  the  Pueblo  Indians  are  farmers.  Some  of  them 
have  large  peach  orchards,  surrounded  by  stone  walls  to 
keep  out  the  sheep  and  goats.  They  raise  apricots,  water 
melons,  and  also  corn,  beans,  and  pumpkins.  They  make 
blankets,  baskets,  and  pottery  ;  and  they  are  in  many  ways 
quite  civilized. 

The  Navajo  Indians  have  thousands  of  horses,  and  hun 
dreds  of  thousands  of  sheep.  They  are  rich  Indians,  and 
are  industrious.  They  live  in  little  round  huts  made  of 
poles  covered  with  earth,  which  have  holes  in  the  top  for 
chimneys.  Some  most  beautiful  blankets  are  made  by 
Navajo  squaws.  The  blankets  are  woven  by  hand,  and 
often  sell  for  as  much  as  one  hundred  dollars  apiece. 

A  large  number  of  our  Indians  live  in  what  was  once 
the  Indian  Territory,  but  which  is  now  a  part  of  the  State 
of  Oklahoma.  This  territory  was  set  aside  more  than  fifty 
years  ago,  and  Congress  for  a  time  hoped  to  make  it  the 
home  of  all  the  Indians.  As  it  is  now,  the  best  part  of 
it  is  owned  by  the  five  civilized  tribes.  These  are  the 
Cherokees,  the  Chickasaws,  the  Choctaws,  the  Creeks,  and 


THE   RESERVATIONS.  297 

the  Seminoles.  These  Indians  still  govern  themselves,  and 
many  of  them  are  far  more  civilized  than  some  of  our  white 
people.  They  have  beautiful  houses,  and  large  and  pros 
perous  farms.  They  have  schools  and  churches,  and  live 
much  as  we  do.  The  tribal  form  of  government,  however, 
is  gradually  being  abolished. 

The  Cherokees  have  an  alphabet,  and  their  books  and 
laws  are  printed  in  their  own  language.  At  Tahlequah, 
which  is  the  capital  of  the  nation,  a  newspaper  is  published 
in  Cherokee.  Many  of  the  men  of  these  civilized  nations 
marry  white  women,  and  the  Indian  girls  often  marry 
white  men.  Some  of  the  Indians  are  very  rich,  and  it  is 
only  by  intermarriage  that  the  whites  can  get  possession 
of  their  lands ;  for,  by  our  laws,  no  white  man  can  buy 
land  of  the  Indians  without  permission  of  Congress. 

For  a  long  time  our  government  has  been  trying  to  civi 
lize  the  savage  Indians.  Upon  every  reservation  is  a  gov 
ernment  agent,  who  gives  the  Indians  certain  amounts  of 
food,  clothes,  cattle,  and  fanning  tools.  About  two  thirds 
of  all  the  Indians  are  either  wholly  or  partly  supported  by 
our  government,  and  the  sums  paid  out  for  this  purpose 
each  year  amount  to  millions  of  dollars.  About  one  third 
of  the  Indians  support  themselves,  and  all  govern  them 
selves  under  our  laws. 

There  are  Indian  schools  on  many  of  the  reservations, 
and  there  are  several  large  Indian  colleges,  such  as  we  saw 
at  Hampton,  for  the  education  of  Indian  boys  and  girls. 
Already  a  great  many  of  the  Indians  have  adopted  the 
white  man's  clothing,  and  a  large  number  of  them  are 
partly  civilized.  Many  of  them,  however,  prefer  their 
savage  ways,  and  it  will  be  a  long  time  before  they  can 
be  made  to  give  up  their  lazy  habits  and  earn  their  living 
by  work  as  we  do. 


298 


ALASKA. 


XL.     ALASKA   AND    THE    SEAL   ISLANDS. 

THE  northwestern  part  of  North  America  belonged  to 
the  Russians  until  1867,  when  they  sold  it  to  the 
United  States.  It  then  became  a  part  of  our  country, 
under  the  name  of  the  territory  of  Alaska.  Alaska  is  so 
far  away,  however,  and  parts  of  it  are  so  covered  with  snow 
and  ice,  that  we  do  not  yet  know  much  about  it.  We 


hardly  realize  what  a  big  country  it  is.  It  is  said  to  con 
tain  about  one  sixth  of  all  the  land  in  our  country,  and  to 
be  so  large  that  the  New  England  States  could  be  stored 
away  in  one  corner  of  it. 

Alaska  is  a  land  of  high  mountains,  of  mighty  glaciers, 
and  of  inland  seas  filled  with  icebergs.      Here  and  there, 


THE   GLACIERS.  299 

arms  of  the  ocean  run  into  the  country  for  many  miles ; 
and  it  has  one  river,  the  Yukon,  which  is  navigable 
for  small  steamers  for  a  greater  distance  than  the  length 
of  the  Mississippi  River  between  New  Orleans  and  St. 
Paul. 

The  glaciers  of  Alaska  are  among  the  largest  in  the 
world.  Upon  the  western  slope  of  Mount  St.  Elias  there 
are  eleven  enormous  blocks  of  ice  moving  down  toward  the 
water.  One  of  these  ice  blocks  is  fifty  miles  long  and 
twenty  miles  wide,  and  another,  as  we  see  it  from  our 
steamer,  is  a  wall  of  ice  two  hundred  feet  high  and  five  miles 
wide,  and  it  stretches  back  as  far  as  our  eyes  can  reach. 

The  Alaskan  glaciers  are  wonderfully  beautiful.  The 
ice  is  of  the  clearest  blue,  and  the  glaciers  look  like  huge 
blocks  or  walls  of  sapphire.  They  look  as  though  they  were 
great  torrents  of  water  which  had  been  frozen  as  they 
were  about  to  plunge  into  the  sea. 

Take  the  Muir  Glacier,  for  instance,  which  faces  the  sea 
on  Glacier  Bay.  If  you  could  double  the  height  of  Niag 
ara  Falls,  and  make  it  twice  as  wide,  and  then  freeze  the 
whole  mass  of  sparkling  water  as  it  falls,  you  might  have 
some  idea  of  this  wonderful  glacier.  You  must,  however, 
imagine  a  background  of  great  mountains  covered  with 
snow,  and  a  bright  sun  which  lights  up  the  icicles  so  that 
they  shine  with  all  the  hues  of  the  rainbow. 

Such  glaciers  are  always  moving  downward,  and  parts 
of  them  every  now  and  then  break  off  and  tumble  into  the 
sea.  As  they  break,  there  is  a  noise  like  thunder.  The 
piece  falls  down,  down,  down,  under  the  water.  The 
water  boils,  the  waves  roll,  and  a  moment  later  a  great 
iceberg  rises  to  the  surface. 

In  traveling  through  these  seas,  we  are  seldom  out  of 
sight  of  icebergs,  and  we  must  be  very  careful  to  have  our 


3°° 


ALASKA. 


ship  out  of  the  way  when  a  glacier  breaks  and  an  iceberg 
is  formed. 

But  it  must  be  very  cold  where  there  is  so  much  snow 
and  ice,  must  it  not? 

Yes ;  the  most  of  Alaska  is  covered  with  snow  the 
greater  part  of  the  year.  The  winters  are  very  long  and 
cold,  and  the  summers  short.  Much  of  southern  Alaska, 
however,  is  so  affected  by  winds  from  the  warm  Japanese 
Current  that  some  parts  of  it,  especially  those  near  the 
coast,  are  quite  habitable  for  civilized  man. 

We  find  the  climate  of  Sitka,  for  instance,  mild.     The 


A  Glacier  — Alaska. 

thermometer  there  seldom  gets  below  zero  in  the  winter, 
nor  does  it  rise  much  above  eighty  in  the  summer,  although 
it  rains  or  snows  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year. 


THE    NATIVES.  3OI 

As  we  sail  along  the  coast  of  this  part  of  the  territory, 
we  pass  forests  almost  as  dense  as  those  of  Louisiana  or 
Florida.  There  are  wild  hops,  wild  onions,  and  wild  ber 
ries  of  many  kinds.  The  raspberries  are  delicious,  and 
at  the  entrance  to  Glacier  Bay  there  is  a  place  known  as 
Strawberry  Point,  where  there  are  so  many  wild  strawber 
ries  that  when  they  blossom  the  land  looks  like  a  field  of 
daisies,  and  when  they  ripen  the  berries  fairly  make  the 
ground  red.  There  is  much  grass  on  the  islands  of  west 
ern  Alaska ;  and  even  upon  the  coast  of  northern  Alaska, 
along  the  Arctic  Ocean,  dandelions  and  buttercups  blossom 
in  July  and  August,  although  they  have  only  a  few  days 
to  live. 

The  people  who  inhabit  Alaska  are  whites,  Eskimos,  and 
Indians.  The  Eskimos  are  found  not  only  here,  but  in 
many  of  the  very  cold  parts  of  North  America.  They 
are  shorter  than  our  Indians.  They  have  coarse  black  hair, 
black  eyes,  high  cheek  bones,  and  broad,  flat  noses.  They 
dress  in  furs,  both  men  and  women  being  clad  in  fur  from 
head  to  foot,  and  having  fur  hoods  which  they  draw  up 
over  their  heads.  In  the  colder  parts  of  Alaska  many 
have  a  second  garment  of  fishskin,  which  they  wear  over 
the  furs.  The  fishskin  garment  is  considered  a  very  de 
sirable  one,  for,  in  case  of  necessity,  its  owner  can  eat  it. 
.Both  men  and  women  often  wear  pieces  of  bone  and  ivory 
in  their  lower  lips  and  noses  as  ornaments,  and  many  tat 
too  their  faces. 

The  Eskimos  live,  for  the  most  part,  on  fish  and  seals. 
They  are  fond  of  all  kinds  of  fats,  and  it  is  said  that  they 
will  eat  tallow  candles  if  they  have  but  little  food.  One 
missionary  who  traveled  through  Alaska  says  that  he  had 
great  trouble  keeping  his  castor  oil,  for  the  natives  looked 
upon  it  as  a  delicious  foreign  drink.  He  had  to  limit  his 


302 


ALASKA. 


prescriptions  to  one  dose  at  a  sickness,  and  would  never 
allow  a  patient  to  have  more  than  four  tablespoonfuls 
at  one  time. 

We  see  many  Indian  villages  as  we  sail  along  the  coast. 

The  most  of  the  In 
dians  of  southern 
Alaska  have  their 
towns  upon  the 
beach :  first,  because 
they  get  their  living 
from  the  sea  by  fish 
ing;  and,  second, 
because  the  forests, 
except  along  the 
beaches,  come  close 
to  the  water's  edge. 
Many  of  the  towns 
consist  of  but  one 
row  of  wooden  huts, 
in  front  of  each  of 
which  stands  a  great 

carved  pole  or  post  called  a  totem.  The  totems  are  from 
thirty  to  fifty  feet  high,  and  in  the  distance  they  make 
you  think  of  a  forest  of  dead  trees  until  you  come  closer 
and  see  the  houses  below  them.  These  totems  are  cov 
ered  with  carvings  of  different  animals  and  birds.  Upon 
some  of  them  are  bears,  whales,  eagles,  or  ravens.  Others 
have  grotesque  figures  of  men.  They  might  be  called  the 
coats  of  arms  or  memorial  posts  of  the  natives,  and  are  not 
idols,  as  has  been  sometimes  supposed. 

As  we  sail  farther  north  we  still  find  that  most  of  the  vil 
lages  are  near  the  coast.  Many  of  the  houses  are  under 
ground,  being  made  so  for  greater  warmth. 


Totem  Poles. 


SEALS.  303 

In  the  summer  many  of  the  Eskimos  live  in  skin  tents, 
and  in  winter  they  often  make  a  tent  of  pure  ice,  stretch 
ing  their  summer  tent  of  skin  over  the  top  as  a  roof.  They 
keep  their  houses  a  little  warm  with  stove  lamps,  but  as  a 
rule  they  rely  chiefly  upon  their  clothing  for  heat.  They 
travel  from  place  to  place  upon  snowshoes,  carrying  their 
household  goods  on  sledges  drawn  by  dogs  or  reindeer. 

The  chief  things  for  which  Alaska  is  valuable  to  us  are 
its  fish,  furs,  and  minerals.  The  fish  of  Alaska  are  caught 
by  the  millions  every  year,  and  are  shipped  to  the  markets 
of  our  country  and  Europe.  During  certain  seasons  the 
salmon  come  into  the  rivers  in  such  droves  that  they  al 
most  fill  them,  and  there  are  immense  factories  in  which 
they  are  cured  and  canned.  Great  quantities  of  codfish 
and  herring  are  caught,  and  the  whaling  industry  also  is 
quite  valuable. 

The  furs  of  Alaska  have  long  since  repaid  us  the  orig 
inal  cost  of  the  country.  On  some  of  the  Alaskan  islands 
are  the  great  seal-catching  grounds  of  the  world.  The 
skin  of  the  fur  seal  is  used  to  make  sealskin  coats  and 
jackets.  The  seals  are  among  the  queerest  of  animals. 
They  are  quite  large,  the  males  often  weighing  five  hun 
dred  pounds,  and  the  females  about  one  fifth  as  much. 

The  seal  has  beautiful  eyes  of  a  bluish  hazel  or  black, 
which  change  in  expression  when  he  is  angry  or  good- 
humored.  His  mouth  and  jaws  are  not  unlike  those  of  a 
Newfoundland  dog,  save  that  the  lips  are  more  firmly 
pressed  together.  He  has  flippers  under  his  body.  Those 
at  the  shoulders  look  like  a  pair  of  black  hands,  the  arms 
being  concealed  under  the  skin,  and  the  hind  flippers  take 
the  place  of  legs  and  feet.  Each  seal  has  two  coats  of 
fur.  One  is  a  short,  crisp,  bristly  one  of  hair,  and  under 
this  there  is  a  soft,  close  one  of  a  downlike  fur. 


304  ALASKA. 


Seals. 

One  of  the  queerest  things  about  the  seals  is  the  sum 
mer  trip  which  they  all  make  to  Alaska.  Is  it  not  strange 
to  think  of  an  animal  having  a  summer  home  ?  This  is 
the  case  with  the  seals.  During  the  winter  they  live  in 
the  warm  waters  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  far  south  of  Bering 
Sea.  Every  spring  they  come  northward  by  the  tens  of 
thousands.  They  swim  on  and  on  until  they  reach  four 
little  islands,  known  as  the  Pribilof  Islands,  in  the  heart 
of  Bering  Sea.  Here  they  climb  up  on  the  rocks,  and  stay 
until  cold  weather  comes,  when  they  again  swim  south  to 
spend  the  winter.  It  is  upon  these  islands  that  all  the 
young  seals  are  born.  The  male  seals  come  first,  and 
pick  out  the  spots  where  they  are  to  live  with  their  fam 
ilies ;  then,  a  few  weeks  later,  the  females  are  seen  swim 
ming  in  ;  and  soon  the  island  is  covered  with  little  colonies 
of  seals,  each  of  which  keeps,  to  a  certain  extent,  to  itself. 

The  baby  seals  make  us  think  of  young  dogs,  and  their 
cry  is  like  the  bleating  of  a  lamb.  The  mother  calls  her 
little  ones  to  her  with  a  noise  like  that  of  a  sheep,  and  the 
little  seals  play  about  together  much  like  little  puppies. 
When  they  are  about  six  weeks  old,  they  go  into  shallow 
pools  and  learn  to  swim;  and  as  they  get  stronger,  they 


THE    SEAL    FISHERIES. 


305 


Sitka.  Alaska. 

roll  down  into  the  sea  and  take  excursions  of  miles.  The 
seals  are  so  valuable  that  men  are  allowed  to  kill  only  a 
few  of  them  each  year.  The  ones  chosen  are  males  from 
three  to  four  years  old.  They  are  not  at  all  hard  to  catch, 
for  they  are  not  much  afraid,  and  they  can  easily  be  driven 
off  in  herds  or  droves,  apart  from  the  others.  The  seal 
hunters  carry  clubs  about  seven  feet  long  and  as  thick  as 
baseball  bats.  They  stun  the  animals  by  striking  them 
on  the  skull,  and  then  other  men  come  along  with  sharp 
knives  and  kill  the  poor  beasts. 

The  skins  are  then  taken  carefully  off,  and  laid  in  large 
piles,  with  layers  of  salt  between  them.  After  being 
thoroughly  salted,  they  are  done  up  in  square  bundles, 


306  BRITISH    AMERICA. 

and  shipped  to  London,  where  all  the  fur  sealskins  are 
dressed.  This  is  done  by  shaving  the  skin  very  thin. 
This  cuts  off  the  roots  of  the  stiff  hairs  which  form  the 
outer  coat,  but  does  not  touch  the  roots  of  the  downy  fur 
below.  The  long  hairs  are  now  brushed  off,  and  the  downy 
fur  is  dyed  black  or  a  rich  brown,  just  as  you  see  it  on 
sealskin  coats. 

The  minerals  of  Alaska  are  valuable.  Vast  quantities  of 
gold  have  been  discovered,  and  there  are  large  deposits  of 
tin,  copper,  and  coal.  Millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  gold  is 
washed  out  of  the  sands  and  earth  during  the  short  summer; 
and  thriving  towns  have  grown  up  to  supply  the  miners. 
Many  white  men,  women,  and  children  now  live  there  all  the 
year  round.  Railroads  have  been  built,  and,  indeed,  this 
cold,  far-away  part  of  our  country  is  rapidly  growing  in 
population  and  wealth. 


XLI.     BRITISH    AMERICA. 

THERE  are  several  ways  by  which  we  can  go  from 
Alaska  into  British  America.  We  might  sail  back 
to  Puget  Sound,  and  thence  cross  the  southern  parts  of 
British  Columbia  and  Canada  by  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railroad ;  but  we  prefer  to  go  up  the  wide  Yukon  River 
into  the  Canadian  Dominion.  In  1897  rich  discoveries  of 
gold  were  made  on  the  Klondike,  a  branch  of  the  Yukon. 
Since  then  thousands  of  men  have  gone  there  for  gold. 
They  have  to  undergo  more  hardships  than  the  miners  we 
saw  farther  south.  The  summers  are  very  short,  and  the 
ground  is  frozen  about  two  thirds  of  the  year.  Most  of 
the  gold  is  washed  out  of  the  earth  along  the  streams. 
During  the  winter,  fires  are  built  on  the  ground  to  take 


THE    GOLD    FIELDS. 


30/ 


Washing  Gold  on  the  Klondike. 

out  the  frost.  Then  the  gold-bearing  earth  is  dug  up  and 
carried  to  the  stream,  and  piled  up  there  to  remain  until 
summer  melts  the  ice  and  gives  the  miners  water  with 
which  to  wash  out  the  gold.  • 

We  travel  many  days  before  we  reach  the  gold  fields. 
We  go  on  through  the  regions  of  the  Klondike  to  Dawson 
City,  and  then  prepare  for  our  long  trip  through  one 
of  the  wildest  parts  of  North  America.  We  leave  the 
Yukon,  and,  with  sledges  and  dogs  to  haul  our  camping 
outfit,  we  make  our  way  over  the  passes  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  to  the  Mackenzie  River.  We  then  move  back 
toward  the  south,  and  cut  our  way  through  the  forests  to 
Hudson  Bay.  Finally,  after  a  long  and  weary  journey, 
we  come  down  into  the  more  settled  parts  of  Canada. 

As  we  travel  through  the  northern  parts  of  our  continent 
we  are  amazed  at  its  extent  and  curious  features.  There 
is  so  much  of  it  that  it  would  take  years  to  explore  it. 


120     !««!?.     110     West     100 


BRITISH 
AMERICA 


SCALE  OF  MILES 


0    50  100        200       300        400 


23  Longitude 


i    90  80Green.wich?o 


Longitud 


East 


310  BRITISH   AMERICA. 

Indeed,  Great  Britain  owns  even  more  land  in  North  Amer 
ica  than  the  United  States.  British  America  is  about  forty 
times  as  big  as  Great  Britain.  It  comprises  one  third  of 
the  whole  British  empire,  and  almost  one  fifteenth  of  all  the 
land  on  the  globe. 

We  travel  for  days  in  the  upper  part  of  this  vast  terri 
tory.  It  is  so  far  north  that  the  trees  are  stunted  by  the 
cold  and  never  grow  higher  than  a  two-year-old  child  ;  and 
we  can  hardly  realize  that  we  are  in  the  same  country  past 
which  we  sailed  as  we  left  Puget  Sound  on  our  way  to 
Alaska.  The  southwestern  part  of  British  Columbia  is 
well  wooded.  It  has  fir  trees  and  cedars  almost  as  tall  as 
the  tallest  church  steeple.  British  America,  in  fact,  con 
tains  the  greater  part  of  the  trees  now  left  in  North  Amer 
ica.  From  Hudson  Bay  to  the  head  of  Lake  Superior 
there  is  an  almost  unbroken  line  of  forest ;  and,  going  some 
distance  north  of  this,  you  could  travel  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  never  get  out  of  the  woods. 

The  most  of  the  country  is  as  wild  as  it  was  when 
Columbus  discovered  America.  We  sometimes  go  for 
days  without  seeing  a  white  human  being.  In  the  ex 
treme  north  we  meet  a  few  Eskimos  in  furs,  and  now  and 
then  an  Indian  from  one  of  the  tribes  of  the  North.  There 
are,  in  all  British  America,  only  about  one  hundred  thou 
sand  Indians,  who  are  scattered  over  the  country  in  wan 
dering  tribes.  The  white  people,  including  those  of  the 
cities,  are  not  more  in  number  than  the  population  of  the 
state  of  New  York,  and  in  the  far  North  we  meet  no  whites 
at  all,  except  now  and  then  an  agent  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company. 

We  often  stop  with  these  agents  as  we  go  on  our  way. 
Each  of  them  has  a  little  store  filled  with  goods  for  trad 
ing  with  the  Indians,  and  we  see  these  people  bring  in  all 


THE    HUDSON   BAY   COMPANY. 


kinds  of  furs  and  trade  them  for  powder,  glass  beads, 
blankets,  and  other  things.  For  more  than  two  hundred 
years  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  has  controlled  the  fur 
trade  of  British  America.  It  has  its  agents  now  every 
where  in  these  cold  regions,  and  its  members  have  grown 
rich  by  trading  with  the  trappers  and  Indians. 


Trading  Post— Hudson  Bay  Company. 

The  Hudson  Bay  Company  was  organized  in  1670.  At 
that  time  King  Charles  II.  of  England  gave  a  party  of 
Englishmen  the  exclusive  right  to  trade  with  the  Indi 
ans  in  the  basin  of  Hudson  Bay.  After  a  time  they  con 
trolled  the  whole  of  the  territory  between  the  coast  of 
Labrador  and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  had  in  their 
employment  hundreds  of  agents  and  traders,  besides 
many  Indians. 


312 


BRITISH    AMERICA. 


But  could  they  find  much  of  value  in  this  wild  and 
desolate  region? 

Yes,  indeed!  The  Canadian  Dominion  is  one  of  the 
great  fur  lands  of  the  world.  In  its  forests  are  great  num 
bers  of  deer,  bears,  minks,  foxes,  and  wolves.  There  are 
also  beavers  and  otters  in  its  rivers  and  lakes.  Millions  of 
skins  and  furs  are  yearly  bought  by  the  agents  of  this 

company,  and  shipped  to 
London,  where  they  are  pre 
pared  for  the  markets  of  the 
world. 

The  Indians  do  not  re 
ceive  money  for  the  furs  and 
skins  which  they  sell.  The 
trade  is  carried  on  by  barter, 
of  which  the  unit  of  account 
is  the  beaver  skin.  One 
beaver  pelt  is  worth  a  cer 
tain  number  of  marten 
skins,  and  a  silver  fox  is 
worth  many  beavers.  The 
Hudson  Bay  Company  send 

out  blankets,  beads,  knives,  and  other  things  to  their  trad 
ing  posts,  and  the  Indians  know  very  well  just  how  much 
they  should  get  for  their  skins. 

The  agents  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  tell  us  that 
they  are  often  a  year  without  seeing  a  white  man.  This 
is  especially  the  case  with  the  agents  near  the  coast  of 
Hudson  Bay.  These  men  are  visited  by  ships  from  Great 
Britain  only  once  a  year.  The  ships  enter  the  bay  about 
the  middle  of  July,  bringing  supplies  for  the  agents;  they 
leave  it  about  the  middle  of  September,  loaded  with  skins 
and  furs  for  London. 


A  Moose. 


WILD    GAME. 


313 


We  find  no  lack  of  either  game  or  fish  in  our  journey. 
We  live  in  large  part  on  what  we  shoot  on  the  way.  We 
now  and  then  kill  caribou,  or  small  deer,  and  are  very 
proud  when  we  bring  down  our  first  moose. 

Moose  hunting  is  by  no  means  child's  play.  Many  of 
the  male  deer  of  this  species  are  eight  feet  high,  and  their 
enormous  antlers,  or  horns,  are  so  large  that  from  tip  to 
tip  they  sometimes  measure  six  feet. 

The  best  time  to  hunt  moose  is  in  the  winter.  Our  In 
dian  guides  go  with  us,  and  we  soon  find  a  moose  yard. 
This  is  the  name  of  the  spots  in  the  swamps  where  the 
moose  have  regular  feeding  grounds.  We  find  the  yard 
by  the  tracks  of  the  moose  in  the  snow,  and  we  prepare 
for  our  hunting  by  putting  on  snowshoes ;  for  in  these  we 
can  run  rapidly,  while  the  moose,  being  very  heavy,  will 
sink  down  through  the  crust,  and  cannot  escape. 

Now  we  are  near  the  yard.  We  hide  behind  the  trees, 
with  our  guns  at  our  shoulders.  The  Indian  guides  call  the 
moose  by  imitating  their  cry,  and  soon  the  great  creatures 
are  seen  making  their  way  through  the  snow.  They  seem 
suspicious ;  but  the  wind 
is  blowing  toward  us,  and 
they  cannot  scent  our 
presence.  We  aim  very 
carefully,  and  bring  down 
the  game  at  the  first  shot. 
Had  we  not  done  so,  the 
moose  might  have  turned 
upon  us  and  crushed  us 
with  its  horns.  The  big 
animal  is  a  fierce  fighter 

when  wounded,  and  for  that  reason  it  is  a  good  thing  to 
have  a  repeating  rifle  when  you  are  hunting  such  game. 


A  Grizzly  Bear. 


3  14  BRITISH    AMERICA. 

In  the  western  part  of  British  America  we  find  panthers, 
grizzly  bears,  and  mountain  sheep.  The  grizzlies  stay  in 
the  gloomiest  parts  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  They  are 
enormous  beasts,  and  the  persons  who  hunt  them  take  their 
lives  in  their  hands.  The  mountain  sheep  are  found  high 
up  in  the  hills,  above  where  the  grizzlies  live.  They  are 
very  sure-footed,  jumping  from  rock  to  rock,  and  are  ex 
ceedingly  difficult  to  kill. 

There  is  excellent  fishing  in  all  parts  of  Canada.  The 
lakes  and  streams  are  alive  with  fish,  and  we  catch  all  sorts 
of  the  finny  tribe,  from  the  sweet-fleshed  brook  trout  to 
the  great  salmon  which  weighs  as  much  as  a  good-sized 
baby. 

Had  we  time  to  spend  a  summer  in  the  Arctic  Ocean, 
about  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie,  we  might  even  catch 
whales,  for  here  is  one  of  the  best  whaling  grounds  in  the 
world.  The  steam  whale  ships,  which  we  saw  at  the  San 
Francisco  docks,  go  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie,  and 
sometimes  vessels  winter  there,  being  frozen  in  the  ice. 

In  former  times  whales  were  caught  chiefly  from  sailing 
vessels.  The  seamen,  as  soon  as  they  got  near  enough  to 
a  whale,  threw  a  harpoon,  with  a  rope  attached,  into  it. 
The  sharp,  arrowlike  head  of  the  harpoon  stuck  into  the 
whale's  flesh,  and  the  great  creature  struggled  in  the  water 
until  it  was  tired  out  and  could  be  killed.  It  was  cut  up 
in  the  water,  and  the  huge  pieces  of  whale  blubber  were 
raised  to  the  ship's  deck,  to  be  made  into  oil. 

Now  much  whaling  is  done  by  little  steamers  which 
carry  cannon  and  shoot  the  harpoons  into  the  whales. 
To  the  harpoons  are  attached  ropes,  which  are  also  fast 
ened  to  the  ships,  and  it  is  not  a  hard  matter  to  kill  a 
whale  when  once  the  harpoon  is  in  him. 

Whales  are  also  caught  off  the.  coast  of  Greenland,  and 


THE    CANADIAN    FISHERIES. 


315 


in  Hudson  Bay  and  also  in  the  waters  along  the  coast  of 
Labrador  and  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  They  are 
valuable  for  their  oil  as  well  as  for  the  bones.  The  whale 
bone  is  taken  from  the  mouths  of  the  whales. 

The  Canadian  salt-water  fisheries  are  very  extensive. 
You  have  heard  of  the  banks  of  Newfoundland.  These 
are  the  greatest  fishing  grounds  that  have  ever  been 
known.  Just  south  of  the  island  of  Newfoundland  there 
is  a  plain  under  the  sea,  about  two  hundred  miles  long  and 
seventy  miles  wide,  where  codfish,  herring,  and  mackerel 
come  by  the  millions  to  feed.  These  fishes  are  fond  of 
cold  water,  and  the  Arctic  Current,  which  washes  the  coast 


Icebergs. 

of  Labrador,  brings  down  a  sort  of  slime  containing  sea 
life,  which  forms  their  favorite  food.  The  waters  here  are 
covered,  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  with  fogs.  Now  and 


316  BRITISH    AMERICA. 

then  huge  icebergs  float  through  them,  and  fishing  is  ex 
ceedingly  dangerous. 

Still,  fishing  vessels  come  here  from  all  parts  of  the 
world,  and  more  codfish  are  caught  on  the  Grand  Banks 
of  Newfoundland  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world.  There 
are  so  many  cod  caught,  in  fact,  that  if  the  dried  codfish 
exported  in  one  year  should  all  be  sent  to  the  United 
States,  there  would  be  more  than  enough  to  give  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  in  our  country  a  pound  and  a  half. 
Much  of  the  best  mackerel  comes  from  Canada,  and  an 
army  of  fishermen  is  engaged  in  catching  herring  in  nets, 
and  in  smoking,  pickling,  or  curing  them  in  other  ways, 
for  the  markets  of  the  world. 


XLII.     THE    CITIES    OF    CANADA. 

THE  Dominion  of  Canada  includes  the  whole  of  British 
America  except  Newfoundland  and  Labrador.  Of 
the  few  million  people  who  inhabit  this  vast  territory, 
almost  all  live  near  the  extreme  southern  edge  of  the 
country.  We  can  take  a  flying  railroad  trip  from  west  to 
east,  and  visit  almost  every  large  Canadian  city  on  the  way. 
We  start  at  Victoria,  on  Vancouver  Island.  This  is  the 
capital  of  British  Columbia.  It  lies  on  a  fine  harbor  over 
looking  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca  and  the  Gulf  of  Geor 
gia.  Its  people  are  chiefly  English-speaking  Canadians, 
and  we  are  surprised  to  see  many  Japanese  and  Chinese, 
who  have  come  here  on  the  steamships  which  stop  at 
Victoria  on  their  way  from  China  and  Japan  to  Vancouver. 
Within  two  miles  of  the  city  is  the  chief  naval  station 
of  Great  Britain  on  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  is  known  as 


ESQUIMALT    AND    VANCOUVER. 


317 


Esquimalt.  We  visit  it,  going  thither  on  electric  cars,  and 
look  at  the  British  men-of-war  which  lie  in  its  harbor. 
There  is  an  immense  dry  dock  at  Esquimalt,  in  which  the 
war  vessels  are  cleaned  of  the  barnacles  that  gather  on 
their  hulls.  There  is  a 
man-of-war  lying  in  it 
at  the  time  of  our  visit, 
and  we  watch  the  men 
scouring  and  scraping 
to  get  the  ship  clean. 

From  Victoria  we  go 
by  steamer  to  Vancou 
ver.  The  trip  takes 
about  half  a  day.  We 
cross  theGulf  of  Georgia, 
ride  under  the  shadow 
of  the  white  cone  of 
Mount  Baker,  and  come 
to  anchor  at  the  chief 
commercial  port  of  Great 
Britain  on  the  Pacific. 
A  steamer  which  has 
just  come  from  Asia  is 
lying  beside  us,  and  we  watch  the  men  unload  packages 
of  tea  and  other  goods  from  China  and  Japan,  and  put 
them  into  the  cars  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railroad,  which 
is  to  carry  them  to  the  East. 

It  is  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  that  we  shall  journey 
from  one  side  of  Canada  to  the  other.  There  is  a  train 
every  day ;  but  we  feel  tired  at  the  thought  that  the  iron 
track  in  front  of  us  goes  on  and  on,  without  stopping,  for 
a  distance  of  twenty-nine  hundred  miles  toward  the  sun 
rise.  We  travel  for  miles  through  country  which  is  heavily 

CARP.  N.  A.M.  — 2O 


Dry  Dock  — Esquimalt. 


BRITISH   AMERICA. 


wooded,  the  fir  trees  in  some  places  rising  to  a  height  of 
three  hundred  feet.  We  skirt  the  Fraser  River,  whose 
sands  are  said  to  contain  much  gold  dust,  and  go  on  until 
we  find  ourselves  in  the  heart  of  the  Rockies.  We  rise 
higher  and  higher,  passing  through  some  of  the  grandest 
scenery  in  the  world.  We  fly  past  glaciers.  We  ride  for 
miles  in  the  snow,  and  then  shoot  down  the  sides  of  the 
mountains  to  the  lower  slopes,  which  are  covered  with  a 
dense  growth  of  green. 

Our  next  journeys  are  over  the  prairies.  We  soon  reach 
Calgary,  a  thriving  city  not  far  from  the  mountains  sur 
rounded  by  rich  grazing  and  fanning  lands  and  a  vast  tract 
of  irrigated  country.  From  here  railroads  go  northward 
and  northeastward,  and  we  might  travel  for  almost  a  thou 
sand  miles  through  a  fast-settling  country  producing  excel 
lent  wheat. 

We  prefer,  however,  to  continue  our  journey  by  the  Ca 
nadian  Pacific  Railroad.  We  pass  many  farms  and  cattle 
ranches,  crossing  the  province  of  Alberta,  and  finally  reach 
Regina,  the  thriving  capital  of  the  province  of  Saskatche 
wan.  There  are  huge  ele 
vators  about  the  station,  at 
which  the  farmers  are  un 
loading  wheat;  and  we  learn 
that  Canada  is  one  of  the 
chief  wheat  countries  of 
the  world,  and  that  Sas- 
*  katchewan  has  millions  of 
acres  .of  fine  wheat  lands. 
At  Regina  is  one  of  the 
chief  stations  of  the  mounted  police,  a  military  organiza 
tion,  whose  business  it  is  to  look  after  the  Indians  and 
keep  order  on  the  western  Canadian  frontier. 


Mounted  Police. 


WINNIPEG   TO   OTTAWA.  319 

Farther  east  we  find  rich  farming  lands,  the  soil  of  which 
will  raise  excellent  wheat ;  and  at  Winnipeg,  after  a  car 
ride  of  fourteen  hundred  and  eighty-two  miles,  we  stop  at 
one  of  the  great  wheat  and  grain  centers  of  the  world. 
There  are  immense  elevators  here.  Winnipeg  is  the  capi 
tal  of  the  rich  wheat  province  of  Manitoba,  which  raises 
millions  of  bushels  of  grain  every  year,  forming  a  continu 
ation  of  the  bread  lands  of  the  Red  River  Valley,  which 
we  visited  after  our  trip  up  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

Winnipeg  is  a  large  and  fast-growing  city.  It  is  the 
key  to  the  prairies  and  commands  the  trade  of  the 
regions  to  the  north  and  west.  The  trunk  lines  of  rail 
road  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  pass  through  it, 
and  railroads  are  now  planned  to  connect  it  with  Hudson 
Bay.  Should  they  be  constructed,  ships  could  come  from 
Europe  during  the  summer  through  Hudson  Strait,  could 
cross  Hudson  Bay,  and  be  within  a  few  hundred  miles 
by  rail  of  the  great  wheatfields  of  the  Canadian  North 
west.  If  this  is  done,  Winnipeg  will  be  the  Chicago  of 
Canada. 

Leaving  Winnipeg,  the  cars  rapidly  take  us  to  Port 
Arthur,  on  Lake  Superior,  and  thence  we  go  on  through 
a  wild,  broken  region,  crossing  many  rapid  rivers  and 
skirting  numerous  lakes.  We  are  seldom  out  of  the  woods, 
and  the  extensive  forests  of  Canada  grow  upon  us  as  we 
ride  farther  east,  through  little  else  than  trees,  until,  about 
thirteen  hundred  miles  from  Winnipeg,  we  reach  Ottawa. 

Ottawa  is  the  capital  of  Canada.  It  is  a  beautiful 
city.  It  is  only  about  one  sixth  as  large  as  Washing 
ton,  and,  like  Washington,  it  was  cut  out  of  a  forest.  It 
is  situated  on  a  high  bluff  at  the  junction  of  the  Rideau  and 
Ottawa  rivers ;  and  as  we  walk  through  its  wide  streets, 
we  can  hear  the  murmur  of  the  Chaudiere  Falls,  which 


320 


BRITISH    AMERICA. 


here  break   the   navigation   of  the   Ottawa  River,  giving 
water  power  for  numerous  sawmills  and  factories. 


Parliament  Buildings  —  Ottawa. 

At  the  highest  part  of  the  city,  almost  overhanging  the 
Ottawa  River,  are  the  Parliament  buildings,  where  the  laws 
for  Canada  are  made  ;  and  near  them  are  the  great  depart 
ment  buildings,  in  which  the  government  of  the  Dominion 
is  directed. 

It  is  at  Ottawa  that  the  governor-general  of  Canada 
lives.  He  is  appointed  by  the  ruler  of  England,  and  re 
ceives  a  salary  of  ten  thousand  pounds,  or  about  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  a  year.  He  has  a  number  of  advisers, 
or  cabinet  ministers,  much  as  our  President  has,  and  it  is 
his  business  to  carry  out  the  laws  of  Canada  as  enacted 
by  the  Parliament. 

The  upper  house  of  the  Canadian   Parliament  is  quiu- 


TORONTO  AND  MONTREAL.          321 

different  from  our  Senate.  The  Canadian  senators  are 
chosen  for  life,  ours  for  six  years.  Each  province  of  Can 
ada  has  the  right  to  a  certain  number  of  senators,  but  the 
men  are  selected  by  the  governor-general  instead  of  being 
chosen  by  the  people  or  legislature,  as  with  us. 

The  House  of  Commons  is  somewhat  like  our  House  of 
Representatives.  Its  members  are  elected  by  the  people. 
Each  representative  receives  twenty-five  hundred  dollars 
a  session.  This  is  but  little  more  than  one  third  the  salary 
of  our  congressmen ;  and  if  he  be  absent  he  is  fined  eight 
dollars  a  day  for  the  time  he  is  away,  unless  his  ab 
sence  is  caused  by  sickness.  Parliament  fixes  the  taxes 
of  Canada,  and  all  the  money  collected  for  taxes  is  spent 
in  Canada,  and  not,  as  was  the  case  with  our  colonies  be 
fore  the  Revolution,  sent  to  Great  Britain. 

Each  of  the  provinces  of  Canada  has  a  government 
somewhat  like  that  of  our  states ;  but  Parliament  deals 
with  the  whole  of  the  Canadian  Dominion,  and  not  with 
any  special  province. 

The  two  largest  cities  of  Canada  are  Montreal  and 
Toronto.  Toronto  is  a  thriving  port  on  Lake  Ontario. 
Montreal  is  on  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  three  hours  by  rail 
from  Ottawa ;  or  we  can  reach  it  by  a  sail  down  the  Ot 
tawa  River  in  the  steamers  which  go  every  day  during  the 
summer  from  one  city  to  the  other. 

Montreal  is  the  New  York  of  Canada.  It  is  its  chief 
commercial  city,  and  also  the  chief  seaport.  It  is  situated 
on  an  island  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  Ottawa  and 
St.  Lawrence  rivers.  Formerly  the  ocean  steamers  com 
ing  to  Canada  had  to  stop  at  Quebec,  because  the  St. 
Lawrence  between  that  city  and  Montreal  was  only  eleven 
feet  deep,  and  this  was  not  deep  enough  for  large  ships. 
In  185  I,  however,  the  river  was  dredged  out,  so  that  there 


322 


BRITISH    AMERICA. 


Wharves  at  Montreal. 

is  now  a  channel  more  than  twenty-seven  feet  deep  all  the 
way  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  Montreal. 

We  find  the  largest  of  ocean  steamers  at  the  wharves  of 
the  city,  and  see  immense  cargoes  of  grain,  which  have 
come  down  the  Great  Lakes  and  through  the  Welland 
Canal,  being  put  into  steamers  to  be  carried  to  Europe. 

Just  back  of  Montreal  there  is  a  high  hill  known  as 
Mount  Royal.  Let  us  go  to  the  top  of  it  and  take  a  view 
of  the  city.  We  ride  up  on  an  inclined  railway,  and  feast 
our  eyes  on  some  of  the  most  beautiful  scenery  in  Amer 
ica.  Montreal,  with  its  wide  streets  and  fine  buildings, 
lies  below  us,  covering  a  long  space  on  the  banks  of  the 


MONTREAL. 


323 


beautiful  St.  Lawrence.  Here  and  there,  among  the 
houses,  rise  the  spires  of  great  churches ;  and  many  beau 
tiful  parks  and  lines  of  shade  trees  are  to  be  seen.  There, 
in  front  of  us,  we  see  Victoria  Bridge  across  the  St.  Law- 


victoria  Bridge. 

rence,  which,  when  it  was  built  in  1860,  was  considered  the 
most  wonderful  bridge  in  the  world.  It  is  made  of 
wrought-iron  tubes,  so  fitted  together  that  they  form  a 
rectangular  pipe  about  two  miles  long,  and  so  wide  and 
high  that  a  railroad  train  can  easily  pass  through  it.  The 
bridge  belongs  to  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway. 

The  stone  pillars  of  the  Victoria  Bridge  are  so  built  that 
their  upper  sides  extend  out  into  the  river  in  the  shape  of 
great  plowshares.  The  object  of  this  is  to  cut  the  ice  as 
it  rushes  against  them  in  the  spring. 

The  St.  Lawrence  is  frozen  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  winter.  The  snow  falls  very  heavily  in  Canada,  and 
for  a  number  of  years  Montreal  has  had  a  winter  festival, 
during  which  the  people  have  built  a  great  palace  of  blocks 
of  ice,  which  many  strangers  have  come  thousands  of  miles 
to  see. 

Both  here  and  in  many  other  parts  of  Canada  the  win- 


324 


BRITISH    AMERICA. 


ter  forms  the  jolliest  part  of  the  year.  The  snow  lies 
upon  the  ground  for  months.  There  are  skating,  snow- 
shoeing,  and  tobogganing.  Every  city  has  its  skating 
rinks,  many  of  which  are  lighted  by  electricity.  Every 
town  in  Canada  has  its  snowshoe  club,  and  in  the  cities 
there  are  numerous  snowshoe  organizations.  Each  club 
has  its  own  uniform,  consisting  of  a  bright-colored  blan 
ket  coat,  and  a  cap,  or  cowl,  fastened  to  the  neck  and 
fitting  over  the  head.  The  clubs  go  out  and  run  over 
the  snow,  playing  games  in  the  moonlight.  They  sing 
as  they  play,  and  the  sight  is  a  most  curious  one. 

Tobogganing       is 
enjoyed      by      men, 

&&Z&B&/M  P^NMHIl         women,  and  children. 

*"  ^^Ip^J  A  toboggan  is  a  thin 
piece  of  board  about 
eighteen  inches  wide 
and  from  four  to 
eight  feet  long.  The 
board  is  turned  up  at 


the  front  end.  It  has 
a  very  smooth  bot 
tom,  and  when  placed 
on  the  edge  of  a  hill, 
with  one  or  more 
passengers  seated 
upon  it,  it  will  rush 
over  the  glassy  snow 
Tobogganing.  with  the  speed  of  an 

express    train.      The 

steersman  of  a  toboggan  sits  in  the  rear.  It  is  his  busi 
ness  to  direct  the  course  of  the  board  with  his  hands  and 
feet.  He  sometimes  makes  a  mistake,  and  turns  himself 


QUEBEC.  325 

and  the  others,  seated  in  front  of  him,  upside  down  in  the 
snow. 

In  our  travels  through  the  eastern  part  of  Canada,  we 
are  surprised  to  find  that  -a  large  portion  of  the  people  are 
French.  There  are  more  French  than  English  in  Quebec, 
and  a  large  proportion  of  the  Canadians  are  of  French 
descent.  We  hear  little  else  than  French  spoken  on  the 
streets  of  Montreal.  In  the  government  offices  papers  are 
printed  in  both  French  and  English,  and  the  signs  in  the 
streets  are  in  both  languages.  The  markets  of  the  cities  of 
eastern  Canada  are  supplied  with  vegetables  by  French- 
Canadian  farmers,  and  we  talk  with  the  marketmen  in 
French. 

The  eastern  part  of  Canada  belonged  for  a  long  time  to 
France.  Then  there  was  a  great  war  between  France  and 
Great  Britain,  and  in  1759  the  British,  under  General 
Wolfe,  climbed  to  the  heights  upon  which  the  city  of 
Quebec  is  built,  and  captured  this  well-fortified  town. 

Quebec  is  called  the  Gibraltar  of  America.  It  is  situ 
ated  upon  a  rocky  bluff  three  hundred  feet  above  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  it  has  many  cannon  which  guard  this  water 
way  from  the  sea  into  Canada.  There  are  forts  on  the 
heights  on  the  opposite  side,  so  that  it  would  be  a  dan 
gerous  thing  for  a  foreign  battle  ship  to  attempt  to  pass 
here  on  its  way  up  the  St.  Lawrence. 

We  steam  down  the  beautiful  St.  Lawrence  from  Mon 
treal  in  a  night,  and  find  ourselves  at  the  wharves  of  Que 
bec  in  the  morning.  The  place  where  the  battle  between 
the  French  and  English  was  fought  lies  just  back  of  the 
city,  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham ;  and  our  guides  tell  us  how 
both  of  the  generals  were  killed  during  the  engagement. 
General  Wolfe  fell  dead  on  the  field,  having  been  hit 
three  times,  the  last  ball  piercing  his  breast.  Montcalm, 


326 


BRITISH    AMERICA. 


The  Citadel  — Quebec. 

the  French  general,  vyas  first  struck  by  a  musket  ball,  and 
then  by  a  discharge  of  the  only  cannon  that  the  British 
had  brought  to  the  field.  He  was  carried,  mortally 
wounded,  into  Quebec,  and  at  five  o'clock  the  next  morn 
ing  he  died.  All  this  happened  on  September  13,  1759. 
It  marked  the  end  of  French  rule  in  North  America. 

The  city  of  Quebec  contains  about  seventy  thousand 
people.  It  is  more  like  an  old  French  town  than  a  mod 
ern  American  city ;  and  as  we  wander  through  its  narrow 
streets  we  can  hardly  believe  that  the  town  belongs  to  our 
pushing  North  American  continent.  The  favorite  mode 
of  conveyance  between  different  parts  of  the  city  is  by 
calashes,  peculiar  two-wheeled,  one-horse  vehicles,  which 


NOVA    SCOTIA   TO    MEXICO.  327 

can  be  hired  at  the  livery  stables  for  seventy-five  cents  an 
hour.  Dufferin  Terrace,  a  grand  promenade  along  the 
edge  of  the  cliff  two 
hundred  feet  high, 
affords  one  of  the 
finest  views  of  river 
and  mountain  scen 
ery  in  the  world.  The 
citadel  of  Quebec  is  J^EKjfagjtlgAfr' 

a  very  strong  fortifi 
cation  covering  nearly  A  Calash 
forty  acres  of  ground. 

We  make  but  a  short  stay  in  Quebec,  and  then  take  the 
railroad  for  Halifax,  the  capital  of  Nova  Scotia,  where 
there  are  other  fortifications,  and  where  the  chief  naval 
station  of  British  America  is  situated. 

Halifax  is  a  beautiful  little  city.  It  has  an  excellent 
harbor.  Here  are  ships  from  many  parts  of  the  world 
at  its  wharves,  and  we  have  little  trouble  in  finding  a 
vessel  which  takes  us  to  Boston.  From  that  point  we 
go  by  rail  to  New  York,  to  take  the  line  of  steamers 
which,  in  five  days,  carries  us  to  Vera  Cruz,  the  chief  sea 
port  of  Mexico. 


XLIII.     SPANISH   NORTH  AMERICA  — MEXICO. 

MEXICO  is  within  a  few  days'  ride  of  any  part  of  the 
United  States,  but  as  we  land  in  Vera  Cruz,  we 
seem  to  be  in  another  world.  The  faces  of  the  people  are 
darker  than  ours.  They  speak  Spanish,  and  we  must 
have  a  Mexican  guide  who  understands  English  to  take  us 
about.  Many  of  the  men  wear  hats  with  brims  a  foot 


328 


MEXICO. 


wide,  and  bands  of  silver  and  gold  as  thick  as  your  wrist. 
Not  a  few  have  on  jackets,  or  short  coats,  embroidered 
with  silver  braid,  pantaloons  the  legs 
of  which  are  ornamented  with  silver 
buttons,  and  leather  belts  from  which 
silver-mounted  revolvers  hang.  The 
dress  of  the  women  seems  strange. 
The  ladies  we  see  on  the  streets  wear 
black,  and  some  have  shawls  over 
their  heads,  like  those  worn  by  the 
women  of  Spain. 

The  poorer  people  are  dressed  in 
cotton.  They  have  features  some 
what  like  those  of  our  Indians ;  but 
they  are  shorter  in  stature,  and  do 
not  look  so  strong.  Nearly  all  of 
the  men  wear  big  hats,  and  not  a  few 
have  red  blankets  which  they  drape 
picturesquely  about  their  shoulders. 
The  women  wear  cotton  dresses,  and  have  shawls  on  their 
heads  in  place  of  hats  or  bonnets. 

What  queer  houses  we  see  in  the  towns!  They  are 
flat-roofed,  and  very  few  of  them  have  chimneys.  The 
people  use  charcoal  for  cooking,  and  Vera  Cruz  is  so  hot 
that  you  do  not  need  a  fire  to  keep  warm.  How  gay  the 
walls  look!  They  are- painted  red,  yellow,  or  bright  blue. 
They  extend  to  the  edges  of  the  sidewalks,  and  the  win 
dows  of  the  ground  floors  have  iron  bars  like  those  of  a 
prison. 

How  beautiful  the  flowers  and  trees  are !      We  are  now 
in  the  land  of  the  tropics.      There  is  a  palm  tree  ;  and  that 
long-leaved  plant  beside  it  is  loaded  down  with  bananas. 
We  are  now  in  what  is  known  as  Spanish  North  Amer- 


A  Mexican. 


§ 


330 


MEXICO. 


Straw  Cottages  —  M  exico. 

ica.  All  the  country  between  the  United  States  and  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama  belonged  for  centuries  to  Spain.  The 
Spaniards  came  across  the  Atlantic  and  conquered  the 
Indians,  and  divided  up  the  land  among  themselves. 
Some  of  the  Spaniards  married  Indian  women,  and  to-day 
Spanish  North  America  is  inhabited  by  the  descendants  of 
the  Spaniards,  by  those  of  the  Spaniards  who  married  the 
Indians,  and  by  the  descendants  of  the  Indians  who  lived 
here  at  the  time  Columbus  discovered  America.  The 
different  countries,  however,  long  ago  rebelled  against 
Spain.  They  now  have  their  own  governments. 

Mexico  is  almost  one  fifth  as  large  as  the  whole  United 
States,  including  Alaska.  Take  your  map  of  North 
America,  and  see  how  the  country  is  shaped.  Does  it  not 
look  much  like  a  great  horn,  the  roots  of  which  are  fast 
ened  to  the  United  States,  and  the  tip  ending  in  Yucatan 
on  the  coast  of  the  Caribbean  Sea? 


THE    ASCENT    FROM    THE    COAST.  331 

Mexico  is  formed  like  a  horn  also,  in  that  it  slopes 
very  steeply  upward  on  both  sides  from  the  sea,  its  top 
forming  a  high,  irregular  plateau,  which  lies,  in  most 
places,  more  than  a  mile  above  the  surface  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  or  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  is  on  the  inner  curve  of 
the  horn  that  we  land  at  Vera  Cruz  ;  and  as  our  cars  climb 
up  the  railroad  from  the  coast  to  the  plateau,  we  get  some 
idea  of  the  many  climates  Mexico  has. 

Along  the  coast  it  is  exceedingly  hot.  It  is  unhealthful 
here  during  a  great  part  of  the  year,  especially  in  the  rainy 
season,  when  the  water  falls  in  torrents.  We  ride  for 
miles  through  groves  of  palm  trees,  on  the  tops  of  which 
bunches  of  cocoanuts  hang.  We  pass  thickets  of  bamboo 
canes,  whose  feathery  branches  extend  high  above  the 
roofs  of  the  cars.  Here  are  mahogany  trees  and  ebony 
trees ;  and  there  are  vines  bearing  vanilla  beans,  from 
which  comes  the  extract  we  use  in  flavoring  ice  cream, 
soda  water,  and  cake. 

The  forests  are  full  of  curious  flowers ;  hundreds  of  or 
chids,  or  airplants,  hang  to  the  branches ;  and  there  are  so 
many  of  these  choice  blossoms  that  we  could  have  a  car 
load    for    the    picking. 
There     are     birds     of 
bright      colors      flying 
about  through  the  trees, 
and  the  mocking  birds 
whistle  at  us  as  we  go 
by. 

We   soon   reach   the 
hills,  and  begin  to  go  A  Double  Engine. 

upward.    The  ascent  is 

so  steep  that  a  double  engine  is  needed.      We  rise  in  one 
place  a  thousand  feet  in  twenty  miles,  and  in  another  we 


332  MEXICO. 

go  upward  four  thousand  feet  in  twenty-nine  miles.  The 
engine  puffs  and  groans  as  it  pulls  us  about  the  sides  of 
the  mountains,  dragging  us  through  tunnel  after  tunnel, 
hauling  us  over  iron  bridges,  now  twisting  this  way  and 
now  winding  that,  until  at  last,  after  having  dragged  us 
more  than  a  mile  and  a  half  above  the  sea,  it  lands  us  at 
Esperanza,  at  the  beginning  of  the  plateau  which  forms 
the  greater  part  of  Mexico. 

In  our  trip  upward  we  have  gone  through  a  half-dozen 
different  climates.  We  first  rode  through  groves  of  orange 
and  lemon  trees.  We  passed  by  fields  of  pineapples,  the 
red  roots  or  bodies  of  which  shone  out  below  the  green 
leaves  against  the  dark  ground.  Pineapples,  we  learn, 
grow  much  like  cabbages,  and  those  which  the  Indian 
women  bring  to  the  cars,  fresh  and  ripe  from  the  fields,  are 
far  more  delicious  than  any  sold  in  our  markets. 

A  little  farther  on  we  passed  through  what  we  at  first 
thought  were  banana  plantations.  The  fields  were  filled 
with  the  tall,  wide-leaved  banana  plants,  but  between 
them  were  bushes  covered  with  dark-green  leaves,  and 
filled  with  bright  red  berries,  each  about  as  big  around 
as  a  small  chestnut.  We  saw  Indians  picking  these  ber 
ries,  and  were  told  that  they  were  gathering  coffee,  and 
that  each  of  the  berries  contained  two  of  the  seeds  which 
form  the  coffee  of  commerce. 

When  we  ask  as  to  the  bananas,  we  learn  that  they  are 
planted  to  shade  the  coffee  bushes,  and  that  the  coffee  is 
by  far  the  more  valuable  product.  Coffee  plants  are  first 
grown  from  the  seed  in  nurseries.  They  are  then  set  out 
in  the  field  and  are  cultivated.  At  the  age  of  five  years 
they  produce  bountiful  crops ;  they  continue  to  yield  for 
about  ten  years,  each  bush  giving  from  one  to  five  pounds 
of  coffee  a  year.  After  the  berries  are  gathered,  they  are 


THE    MEXICAN    PLATEAU. 


333 


Drying  Coffee. 

crushed  to  get  the  hulls  from  the  seeds,  and  the  seeds  are 
then  dried  and  cleaned  for  the  market.  Some  of  the  best 
coffee  of  the  world  is  raised  in  Mexico,  and  there  are  large 
plantations  in  those  parts  of  the  country  lying  between  the 
plateau  and  the  sea. 

The  most  of  the  Mexican  plateau  is  too  cool  to  produce 
tropical  fruits.  Its  climate  is  a  temperate  one  and  exceed 
ingly  healthful.  The  weather  the  year  round  is  much  like 
that  of  an  Ohio  June. 

The  tops  of  the  mountains  along  the  borders  of  this 
great  tableland  are  covered  with  perpetual  snow.  The 
air  is  so  pure  that  we  can  see  many  miles.  The  sky  seems 
closer  to  the  earth  than  at  home,  and  at  night  the  moon 
shines  with  a  greater  brilliancy,  and  the  stars  are  more  than 
ever  like  diamonds. 

It  is  on  the  Mexican  plateau  that  most  of  the  people 
live.  There  are  railroads  which  connect  the  larger  cities, 
many  of  which  are  more  than  a  mile  above  the  sea.  In 
the  northern  part  of  Mexico  the  plateau  has  many 


334  MEXICO. 

deserts  like  those  we  saw  among  the  Rockies  on  our  way  to 
San  Francisco.  Here  the  only  plants  which  grow  are  the 
cacti  and  the  sagebrush.  The  ground  is  white  and  glar 
ing,  and  as  we  cross  the  deserts  on  the  railroads,  our  eyes 
grow  sore  and  our  nostrils  are  filled  with  a  suffocating 
dust. 

The  surface  of  the  plateau  is  rolling.  Out  of  it  rise  many 
mountains  containing  gold  and  silver.  It  has  rich  valleys 
and  well-watered  plains,  many  of  which  are  divided  up 
into  enormous  farms  called  haciendas. 

What  would  you  think  of  traveling  for  eighty  miles  on 
a  railroad  through  one  man's  farm  ?  There  are  haciendas 
even  larger  than  that  in  Mexico,  upon  which  great  herds 
of  cattle,  droves  of  horses,  and  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats 
are  pastured.  There  are  plantations  farther  south  upon 
which  vast  crops  of  tobacco  and  cotton  are  grown ;  and 
wheat,  corn,  and  barley  can  be  raised  almost  anywhere 
upon  the  watered  parts  of  the  tableland. 

There  are  few  countries  where  crops  grow  so  luxuri 
antly  as  in  Mexico.  The  farmers  use  the  poorest  of  tools. 
Many  of  the  plows  are  forked  sticks  shod  with  iron,  which 
merely  scratch  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Still,  some  of 
the  land  is  so  rich  that  it  will  produce  two  crops  a  year, 
and  I  have  seen  men  harvesting  in  one  field  while  the 
same  kind  of  crop  was  being  planted  in  the  field  adjoin 
ing.  We  can  pick  roses  almost  anywhere  in  Mexico  from 
January  to  December;  and  should  we  ride  north  from 
Mexico  city,  we  would  pass  through  sections  of  the  coun 
try  where  strawberries  are  ripe  all  the  year  round. 

In  our  travels  we  see  many  curious  plants.  The  cactus 
grows  everywhere  upon  the  highlands.  There  are  many 
species  of  cacti  in  Mexico,  some  of  which  are  very  valu 
able.  You  may  have  seen  century  plants  in  the  hothouses 


THE    CACTI. 


335 


of  the  United  States.  There  is  a  species  of  this  plant 
family  which  grows  best  in  Yucatan.  It  is  known  as  hene- 
quen,  or  Sisal  hemp,  and  is  of  great  value  on  account  of 
its  fibers.  The  cactus  leaves  are  composed  of  long  threads, 
or  fibers,  which,  when  prepared,  can  be  used  for  the 
making  of  hammocks,  bagging,  or  ropes.  Many  of  the 
hammocks  we  use  in  America  are  woven  by  the  Indian 
women  of  Yucatan. 

There  is  another  species  of  cactus  which  grows  near 
Mexico  city,  the  juice  of  which,  if  kept  a  few  days,  turns 
into  a  beer  which  the 
natives  greedily  drink. 
This  species  is  the  mag 
uey  plant.  We  pass 
through  vast  plantations 
of  maguey  on  our  way 
to  the  Mexican  capital. 
The  full-grown  plants 
are  so  big  that  you  could 
not  crowd  the  smallest 
of  them  into  a  hogshead. 
They  have  leaves  from 
six  to  eight  inches  thick, 
which  sprout  up  from 
the  ground  to  the  height 
of  ten  or  twelve  feet.  Maguey  Plant. 

Inside  the  leaves  there 

is  a  green  cone  as  big  around  as  a  peck  measure ;  and 
when  the  plant  is  ripe,  this  cone  is  cut  out,  leaving  a  bowl 
which  will  hold  about  two  gallons. 

Into  this  queer  bowl  the  sap  runs  down  from  the 
leaves  in  streams,  each  plant  producing  from  eight  to  fif 
teen  quarts  of  juice  every  day;  and  as  this  yield  will  con- 

CARP.  N.  AM.— 21 


336  MEXICO. 

tinue  for  six  months,  you  can  see  that  a  single  plant 
will  produce  several  barrels  of  liquor.  The  juice  is  quite 
sweet  at  first,  and  it  is  as  clear  as  spring  water.  It 
begins  to  ferment  in  a  very  few  hours,  and  within  a  day 
it  has  turned  to  beer,  and  will  make  you  drunk  if  you 
take  too  much  of  it. 

XLIV.     TRAVELS    IN    MEXICO. 

WE  remain  some  time  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  from 
there  take  trips  by  rail  and  stage  to  different  parts 
of  the  country.  Mexico  has  now  thousands  of  miles  of  rail 
way,  reaching  all  parts  of  the  plateau  and  the  harbors  on  the 
east  and  west  coasts.  The  most  of  these  roads  have  been 
recently  built,  and  we  can  travel  through  many  sections 
of  country  which  until  now  have  been  almost  unknown  to 
the  rest  of  the  world.  There  is  good  order  everywhere, 
and  we  cannot  see  why  so  many  Mexicans  should  carry 
revolvers.  It  is  because  the  country  for  years  was  filled 
with  brigands,  and  it  was  then  not  safe  to  travel  alone. 
Now,  however,  there  is  peace  everywhere,  and  we  ride  on 
donkeys  for  miles  through  the  mountains. 

We  can  get  a  good  idea  of  the  cities  of  Mexico  by  a 
look  at  the  capital.  The  best  view  of  Mexico  city  can  be 
had  from  the  spire  of  the  great  cathedral  which  stands  in 
its  center.  Let  us  climb  to  the  top,  and  take  a  bird's-eye 
view  of  the  city.  We  are  now  two  hundred  feet  above  the 
ground,  looking  down  upon  one  of  the  most  picturesque 
cities  of  North  America.  The  Mexican  capital  lies  in  a 
beautiful  valley  surrounded  by  mountains.  Off  in  the  dis 
tance,  the  two  great  volcanoes  of  Popocatepetl  and  the 
White  Woman  look  down  upon  us  out  of  their  caps  of 


THE    CAPITAL    CITY. 


337 


The  Cathedral  —City  of  Mexico. 

perpetual  snow;  and  the  green  fields  of  the  valley  are 
spotted  here  and  there  with  lakes,  which  shine  like  great 
shields  of  diamonds  under  the  bright  rays  of  the  southern 
sun. 

The  city  below  looks  like  a  checkerboard.  It  is  divided 
into  squares  of  houses  roofed  with  brick,  and  the  streets 
which  bound  the  squares  are  of  cobblestones.  As  we  look 
down,  we  see  that  the  roofs  of  all  Mexican  houses  are  flat. 
There  is  not  a  bit  of  smoke  rising  from  them.  There  are 
not  a  dozen  chimneys  in  the  whole  city,  for  the  houses  are 
heated  with  charcoal,  and  the  cooking  is  done  with  the 
same  fuel  in  little  clay  ovens.  There  are  few  furnaces  in 
Mexico,  and  iron  cooking  stoves  are  almost  unknown. 

On  the  tops  of  many  of  the  houses  we  see  white  and 
gay-colored  patches  floating  to  and  fro  in  the  breeze. 


333 


MEXICO. 


These  are  the  family  washings,  which  are  often  dried  upon 
the  roofs.  Farther  out  upon  the  edges  of  the  canals,  at 
the  outskirts  of  the  city,  there  are  other  patches  of  white ; 
and  you  see  that  much  of  the  washing  of  Mexico  is  done 
in  the  streams,  the  most  of  the  clothes  being  washed  in 
cold  water. 

Notice   how   the   houses   are   built.      Few  of  them   arc 
more  than  three  stories  in  height.      They  stand  close  to 


General  View  of  the  City  of  Mexico. 

the  sidewalks,  around  little  courts  which  form  yards  or 
gardens.  Every  large  Mexican  house  has  a  court  of  this 
kind.  There  are  flowers  and  trees  growing  in  it. 

Just  below  us,  in  front  of  the  cathedral,  there  is  a  large 
square,  known  as  the  plaza,  where  the  band  plays  every 
evening,  and  where  the  people  come  to  walk  about  under 
the  trees.  Such  plazas  are  to  be  found  in  every  Mexican 
city.  The  people  are  fond  of  music,  and  they  spend  much 
time  out  of  doors.  That  long  three-story  building  at  the 


THE    CAPITAL    CITY.  339 

side  of  the  plaza  below  us  is  the  National  Palace,  where 
the  Congress  of  Mexico  sits,  and  where  the  officers  of  the 
government  work.  Mexico  is  a  republic  much  like  the 
United  States.  It  is  in  that  building  that  the  President 
receives  his  callers ;  and  about  him,  in  other  rooms,  are 
the  chief  offices  of  the  government  departments. 

What  a  number  of  churches  there  are,  rising  out  above 
the  rest  of  the  houses !  All  Mexican  cities  have  fine 
church  buildings.  The  chief  religion  of  the  people  is 
Roman  Catholic,  and  for  years  the  church  owned  a  vast 
deal  of  all  kinds  of  property.  Some  time  ago,  however, 
the  government  thought  that  the  church  had  too  much 
influence  upon  the  people.  It  therefore  confiscated 
many  of  the  church  buildings ;  and  we  shall  see  old  mon 
asteries  and  convents  that  are  now  used  for  public  schools. 
Some  have  been  sold  for  factories,  and  others  for  hotels. 

But  let  us  go  down  from  the  cathedral  and  take  a  walk 
through  the  city.  It  is  now  just  after  noon,  and  we  find 
the  streets  almost  deserted.  The  Mexicans  close  their 
stores  at  twelve  o'clock,  and  rest  during  the  hot  hours  of 
the  day.  They  have  their  dinners  between  twelve  and  one, 
after  which  they  take  a  nap  or  chat  with  their  families 
until  three,  when  they  come  back  to  work.  The  business 
hours  are,  in  fact,  from  nine  to  twelve  in  the  morning, 
and  from  three  to  six  in  the  afternoon. 

By  seven  o'clock  most  of  the  establishments  are  closed, 
and  the  evening  is  given  up  to  rest  or  to  pleasure.  After 
seven  the  poorer  people  go  out  to  walk  in  the  parks,  and 
those  who  have  carriages  drive  out  upon  the  Paseo,  the 
wide  road  which  runs  between  the  city  and  the  great  hill 
called  Chapultepec,  on  which  is  the  summer  home  of  the 
President. 

We  are  surprised  to  see  how  many  poor  people  there 


340 


MEXICO. 


.    Chapuitepec. 

are.  There  are  hundreds  of  thousands  who  work  for  a  few 
cents  a  day,  and  there  are  thousands  of  families  supported 
in  Mexico  on  less  than  a  dollar  a  week.  The  Spaniards 
and  the  mestizos,  or  the  descendants  of  Spaniards  and 
Indians,  own  the  greater  part  of  the  wealth.  The  Indians, 
of  whom  there  are  several  millions,  and  the  poorer  of 
the  mestizos,  form  the  laboring  class.  They  get  in  debt  to 
their  employers,  and  work  on  from  year  to  year,  taking 
only  a  part  of  their  wages  from  day  to  day,  and  allowing 
the  remainder  to  go  toward  the  payment  of  that  which 
they  owe.  They  borrow  more  from  time  to  time,  and 
thus  keep  themselves  all  their  lives  in  a  sort  of  debt  slav 
ery.  Such  slaves  are  known  as  peons,  and  the  poorer 
classes  of  Mexico  are  generally  called  peons. 

We  see  many  peons  in  Mexico  city.  The  men  dress, 
as  a  rule,  in  white  cotton  shirts  and  pantaloons.  The 
shirt  is  outside  of  the  pantaloons,  and  the  pantaloons  fall 
to  the  feet.  The  peon  does  not  wear  stockings.  His 


THE    PEONS. 


341 


feet  are  shod  with  sandals  of  thick  leather.  He  wears  a 
broad-brimmed  hat  with  a  crown  a  foot  high,  and  a  red 
blanket,  which  he  throws  about  his  shoulders.  The  peon 
woman  usually  goes  barefooted,  and  bareheaded.  Her 
dress  is  of  cotton,  and  her  only  additional  garment  is  a 
shawl,  which  she  drapes  around  her  shoulders  and  some 
times  draws  over  her  head. 

We  see  many  of  the  peons  in  the  market.  They  bring 
vegetables,  eggs,  and  other  things  on  their  backs  from 
their  little  farms  miles  away  from  the  city.  They  squat 
down  under  umbrellas,  and,  with  their  wares  piled  up  be 
fore  them,  offer  them  for  sale. 

Indian  corn  forms  the  chief  food  of  the  people.  The 
most  of  the  people  of  Mexico  do  not  know  what  bread  is, 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  have  never  tasted  wheat  flour. 
There  are  vast  numbers  who  have  never  had  meal  ground 
in  a  mill.  Every  peon  woman  is  her  own  cook  and  her 
own  miller.  Outside  of  almost  any  Mexican  hut  we  can 
see  a  woman  preparing  her  Indian  corn  for  food.  She 


Making  Tortillas. 


342 


MEXICO. 


Hut  of  a  Peon. 

does  this  by  means  of  two  stones.  One  is  a  rough  slab 
about  a  foot  wide  and  eighteen  inches  long,  and  the  other 
is  a  round  stone  such  as  we  use  for  whetting  scythes. 
The  woman  first  soaks  the  grains  of  corn  in  limewater  until 
they  are  soft.  She  then  lays  them  on  the  slab,  and,  getting 
down  on  her  knees  behind  it,  rubs  them  with  the  round 
stone  into  a  paste  or  dough.  She  presses  this  with  her 
hand  into  the  shape  of  a  griddlecake,  and  then  lays  it  upon 
a  charcoal  fire  to  cook ;  and  in  a  short  time  the  bread  for 
the  family  is  made.  These  cakes  are  called  tortillas.  We 
taste  them,  and  find  them  quite  good.  The  peons  eat 
them  without  butter,  though  they  sometimes  use  salt  and 
red  pepper  for  seasoning  them. 

There  is  one  dish  that  we  shall  find  well  served  in  every 
Mexican  house.  This  dish  is  black  beans,  which  the 
Mexicans  call  frijoles  (fre-o'les).  Frijoles  are  eaten  by 
both  the  rich  and  the  poor.  It  is  not  an  uncommon 


THE    MOUNTAIN    DISTRICTS.  343 

thing  to  have  them  brought  in  at  the  close  of  the 
meal. 

The  Mexicans  have  very  good  candies,  and  you  will 
find  delicious  chocolate  everywhere.  At  noon  the  better 
classes  have  a  good  dinner,  each  dish  being  brought  in  and 
served  separately,  and  not  all  at  once  as  with  us.  None 
but  the  rich  can  afford  meat,  and  in  some  cities  the  way 
meat  is  sold  makes  us  think  that  it  would  be  dear  at  almost 
any  price.  I  once  saw  a  butcher  peddling  beef  in  the 
Mexican  city  of  Guanajuato.  His  meat  wagon  moved  about 
on  legs  instead  of  wheels.  It  was  a  dirty,  one-eyed  mule. 
Upon  the  mule's  back  there  was  a  framelike  saddle  cov 
ered  with  hooks.  The  pieces  of  meat  hung  from  the 
hooks  down  the  sides  of  the  animal,  the  blood  from  them 
dripping  to  the  ground  as  the  mule  walked  along. 

The  mountain  districts  of  Mexico  are  among  the  most 
interesting  parts  of  the  country.  Since  the  discovery  of 
America,  much  of  the  silver  of  the  world  has  been  taken 
from  the  Mexican  mines,  and  there  are  mines  here  which 
have  produced  tens  of  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  silver. 

The  Mexican  Indians  had  vast  quantities  of  gold  and 
silver  when  the  Spaniards  conquered  them.  Montezuma, 
the  Indian  emperor,  gave  Cortes,  the  Spanish  general, 
plates  of  gold  and  silver  as  big  as  wagon  wheels,  and  his 
people  made  spurs  of  gold  for  the  Spanish  horsemen.  To 
day  more  than  one  thousand  mines  are  being  worked  in 
Mexico,  and  more  than  two  hundred  thousand  men  are 
employed  in  getting  out  the  precious  metals. 

But  before  we  leave  Mexico  we  must  see  a  volcano. 
Mexico  has  a  number  of  these  wonderful  mountains,  which 
now  and  then  vomit  forth  lava,  steam,  and  sulphur.  We 
can  see  Popocatepetl  from  any  part  of  Mexico  city,  and 
we  resolve  to  climb  it. 


344 


MEXICO. 


Popocatepetl  is  one  of  the  greatest  volcanoes,  and  it  is 
one  of  the  highest  mountains  on  this  continent.  It  is 
more  than  seventeen  thousand  feet  high,  or  more  than 
three  miles  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  We  ride  over  a 
railroad  to  the  town  of  Aineca  Meca,  which  lies  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountain.  Here  we  take  guides,  who  carry  our 
overcoats  for  us.  We  each  have  a  stick  to  keep  us  from 
falling,  and  the  guides  have  ropes  to  help  us  over  the  icy 
and  rough  places. 

For  the  first  few  hours  we  go  through  a  pine  forest. 
Then  we  climb  up  hills  of  volcanic  rock,  through  loose, 


Popocatepetl. 

shifting,  black  sand.  As  we  rise  higher,  the  trees  are 
smaller,  and  at  last  we  come  to  a  point  where  nothing  at 
all  grows. 

We  soon  reach  the  snow  line,  where,  from  year's  end 


CENTRAL    AMERICA.  345 

to  year's  end,  the  snow  never  melts.  The  snow  is  soft  at 
first,  but  as  we  rise  it  becomes  harder  and  harder.  The 
air  grows  colder  and  thinner,  and  at  times  we  feel  a  little 
faint  and  sick.  How  our  hearts  beat!  The  glare  of  the 
hot  Mexican  sun  on  the  snow  dazzles  our  eyes,  and  our 
hands  are  torn  in  pulling  ourselves  from  point  to  point  over 
the  ice.  At  last  we  reach  the  top,  and  stand  at  the  edge 
of  the  crater  of  the  greatest  volcano  in  North  America. 

Popocatepetl  is  not  now  throwing  stones,  rock,  and  lava 
into  the  air,  but  it  is  always  vomiting  out  fumes  of  sulphur. 
We  have  to  get  to  the  windward  of  the  volumes  of  blue- 
and-yellow  brimstone  smoke  which  rise  out  of  the  great 
hole  in  the  top  of  the  mountain,  and  then  we  can  look 
down  within.  The  top  of  the  crater  is  almost  a  mile  wide, 
and  the  hole  is  more  than  one  thousand  feet  deep.  The 
walls  slope  inward  as  they  go  down,  and  by  peeping  in  we 
can  see  scores  of  Indians  at  work  gathering  the  sulphur 
and  carrying  it  to  the  top.  From  there  it  is  slid  down  the 
mountain  in  a  sort  of  trough,  or  chute,  to  be  prepared  for 
the  markets.  The  sulphur  of  Popocatepetl  is  said  to  be  the 
purest  in  the  world,  and  a  great  quantity  of  it  is  taken  out 
and  sold  every  year. 


XLV.     CENTRAL    AMERICA. 

TO-DAY  we  leave  Mexico  for  a  trip  through  Central 
America.  In  going  from  the  southern  boundary  of 
Mexico  to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  we  have  to  travel  al 
most  as  far  as  from  New  York  to  Chicago.  The  journey 
requires  several  days  if  taken  by  sea ;  and  should  we  go 
the  whole  way  by  land,  we  would  be  months  in  getting 
from  one  point  to  the  other. 


PEOPLE    AND    CLIMATE. 


347 


Central  America  is  not  thickly  populated.  It  has  not, 
in  all  its  states  together,  as  many  people  as  there  are  in 
the  city  of  New  York.  The  people  are  much  like  the 
Mexicans,  save  that  there  are  more  Indians  among  them. 
The  country  is  not  unlike  Mexico,  with  tropical  lowlands 
and  a  strip  of  plateau,  upon  which  are  high  volcanic  moun 
tains.  In  the  mountains  we  see  men  and  women  at  work 
mining  gold  and  silver.  In  some  places  the  Indian  women 
are  washing  gold  out  of  the  streams. 

The  climate  of  Central  America  is  hotter  than  that  of 
Mexico.  It  grows  warmer  and  warmer  as  we  go  south 
ward,  and  on  the  lowlands  the  vegetation  becomes  more 
and  more  tropical. 

We  find  excellent  coffee  lands  in  many  of  the  states.     In 


A  Banana  Plantation. 


34^  CENTRAL    AMERICA. 

Honduras  we  visit  plantations  where  vast  quantities  of 
bananas  are  raised  for  the  American  markets.  The 
plants  are  started  from  suckers  pulled  from  the  banana 
plants  already  grown.  The  suckers  are  set  in  the  earth 
about  fifteen  feet  apart.  They  grow  rapidly,  soon  reach 
ing  a  height  far  above  your  head,  and  spreading  out 
their  long,  wide  leaves.  At  the  age  of  ten  months  the 
first  fruit  can  be  gathered.  Large  bunches  of  green  bana 
nas  now  hang  down  from  the  stalks  of  the  plant.  They 
are  pulled  down  almost  to  the  ground,  and  then  the 
stalk  is  cut  next  to  the  fruit  with  a  long  knife.  The 
bananas  are  cut  when  they  are  green,  and  put  upon  ship 
board  for  export.  It  takes  several  days  for  them  to 
reach  our  markets,  and  they  have  time  to  ripen  during  the 
voyage. 

Another  product  of  Central  America  which  finds  its  way 
to  all  parts  of  the  United  States  is  chocolate  or  cocoa.  It 
is  made  from  the  seeds  of  the  fruit  of  the  cacao  tree, 
which  is  cultivated  in  Mexico  and  Central  America.  The 
tree  is  planted  just  as  we  plant  peach  or  apple  trees. 
It  is  carefully  cared  for,  and  after  a  few  years  it  bears  a  red 
or  green  fruit,  about  eight  inches  long,  in  which  are  the 
seeds  known  as  chocolate  nuts  or  cacao  beans.  The  seeds 
are  very  oily,  and  they  are  allowed  to  ferment  before  they 
are  dried.  They  are  ground  up  into  a  powder,  some  of  the 
oil  being  taken  out  in  the  process  of  preparation.  The 
powder,  pressed  into  cakes,  forms  the  chocolate  which  is 
sold  in  our  stores. 

Much  of  our  journey  in  Central  America  must  be  through 
the  forests.  No  other  part  of  the  grand  division  has 
such  dense  woods  as  are  found  here.  The  trees  grow  to  a 
great  height  and  thickness.  They  are  bound  together 
by  snakelike  vines,  and  the  vegetation  is  so  dense  that  in 


THE    FORESTS. 


349 


passing  through  the  woods  it  is  impossible  to  advance 
more  than  a  few  miles  each  day. 

Travel  is  quite  dangerous  in  the  forest  regions.  There 
are  many  poisonous  snakes.  There  are  centipedes,  scor 
pions,  vipers,  and  all  sorts  of  horrible  creeping  things. 
We  see  many  wild  beasts.  There  are  panthers  and 
jaguars.  There  are  herds  of  peccaries,  or  wild  hogs ;  and 
monkeys  by  the  hundreds  jump  from  tree  to  tree.  There 
are  humming  birds  not  much  larger  than  bumblebees. 
There  are  wild  parrots  and  other  birds  of  the  most  gor 
geous  plumage. 

Here  and  there,  in  the  woods,  we  find  lumber  camps, 
where  men  are  cutting  down  mahogany,  ebony,  and  rose 
wood  trees,  to  be  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  world  for 


A  Hut  in  Central  America. 


350  CENTRAL    AMERICA. 

making  furniture.  The  camps  are  usually  on  the  banks 
of  a  river,  the  lumber  being  dragged  by  oxen  to  the 
stream,  and  floated  down  to  the  seacoast.  A  mahogany 
camp  consists  of  a  collection  of  log  cabins,  in  which  from 
thirty  to  fifty  men  live  and  work,  under  an  overseer  called 
a  captain.  There  is  one  man  among  them,  who  is  known 
as  the  hunter,  who  goes  through  the  forest  and  picks  out 
the  trees  fit  for  cutting.  This  man  knows  a  mahogany 
tree  as  far  as  he  can  see  it,  and  he  understands  just  how 
large  it  should  be  to  make  good  lumber. 

The  mahogany  grows  to  an  enormous  size  in  Central 
America,  the  trunks  of  some  trees  being  sixty  feet  high 
before  the  branches  begin.  At  certain  times  of  the  year 
the  leaves  of  the  mahogany  are  colored  as  brightly  as  the 
leaves  of  our  forests  in  autumn.  It  is  this  color  which 
forms  the  guide  to  the  hunter,  who,  having  climbed  to  the 
top  of  some  high  tree,  picks  out  with  his  eye  the  places 
where  the  mahogany  trees  are,  and  plans  just  how  to  get 
to  them.  No  trees  are  cut  down  which  are  less  than  eight 
feet  in  circumference,  and  it  has  been  calculated  that  a 
mahogany  tree  must  be  three  hundred  years  old  before  it 
is  ready  for  lumber.  The  wood  is  of  such  value  that  it 
brings  high  prices  everywhere. 

There  are  also  India-rubber  trees.  These  trees  in 
Central  America  do  not  grow  more  than  fifty  feet  high. 
Sometimes,  in  gathering  the  sap,  the  rubber  trees  are 
cut  down.  Sometimes  they  are  left  standing,  and  the 
bark  is  cut  away  in  strips  from  the  top  of  the  tree  to  its 
roots.  Holes  are  made  in  the  ground  at  the  ends  of  the 
strips,  and  these  are  so  plastered  with  leaves  that  they 
make  a  bowl  in  which  the  sap  is  caught  as  it  oozes  out  and 
rolls  down.  After  the  sap  has  been  collected,  it  is  allowed 
to  harden,  and  is  then  kneaded  into  cakes  for  the  markets. 


THE    ISTHMUS    OF    PANAMA. 


351 


The  cities  of  Central  America  are  few.      All  of  them 
are   small,  and    we    find    them    not    unlike    the    Mexican 


Native  Shop  in  Guatemala. 

towns  we  have  visited.  Many  of  them  are  back  from  the 
sea,  and  few  of  the  interior 'cities  can  be  reached  by  rail 
road  from  the  Pacific  coast.  But  there  are  a  number  of 
good  harbors  along  the  coast. 

As  we  near  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  we  find  that  the 
country  grows  more  and  more  narrow,  until,  at  the  town 
of  Panama,  the  distance  between  the  Pacific  coast  and  that 
of  the  Caribbean  Sea  is  only  forty-five  miles.  Is  not  this 
a  narrow  strip  of  land  which  ties  the  two  divisions  of  Amer 
ica  together? 

Yes,  indeed ;  but,  with  its  rough  highlands,  it  is  big 
enough  to  form  a  great  barrier  to  the  east  and  west  com 
merce  of  the  world.  Could  we  sink  the  Isthmus  of  Panama 
or  a  slice  of  Central  America  under  the  sea,  ships,  in  going 
from  New  York  to  San  Francisco,  would  not  have  to  sail 
round  South  America,  a  distance  of  more  than  eight  thou- 


352 


CENTRAL    AMERICA. 


sand  miles   would  be  saved,  and   Asia  would   be   several 
weeks  nearer  our  Atlantic  coast  and  Europe. 


B   B   £"  A   A 


The  Proposed  Panama  Canal. 

The  advantages  of  such  a  route  are  so  great  that  plans 
have  been  made  for  the  construction  of  canals  through 
that  part  of  Central  America  in  which  Lake  Nicaragua 
lies,  and  through  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  Our  govern 
ment  thinks  the  latter  route  is  the  best,  and  by  a  treaty 
with  Panama  it  has  acquired  the  right  to  a  strip  of  land 
where  the  French  had  begun  to  dig  a  canal  across  the 
isthmus.  The  French  gave  up  the  undertaking  after  a 
time  because  it  was  so  difficult  and  costly  ;  but  our  gov 
ernment  is  now  at  work  there,  and  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  oceans  here  will  soon  be  connected  by  a  short 
waterway. 

At  present,  however,  there  is  no  chance  to  get  across 
Central  America  by  sea ;  so  we  take  the  little  railroad  that 
runs  from  one  side  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to  the  other, 
and  within  a  few  hours  find  ourselves  at  the  town  of  Colon, 
on  the  Caribbean  Sea.  From  this  place  we  take  a  ship 
which  lands  us  again  in  New  York. 


INDEX. 


Agriculture,  U.  S.  department  of,  45. 
Alaska,  298-306. 
Army,  U.  S.,  38. 
Atlanta,  120. 

Baltimore,  45. 
Bananas,  332. 
Bedloes  Island,  73. 
Boston,  91-99- 
British  America,  306-327. 
Brooklyn  Bridge,  73. 
Buffalo,  192-195. 
Bunker  Hill,  94. 

Cacti,  334. 

California,  264-278. 

Canada,  312,  316-327. 

Canals  — Erie,  60,  175,  193;  Nicara 
gua,  351;  Panama,  351;  St.  Mary's, 
177  ;  Welland,  179. 

Capitol,  national,  29-34. 

Central  America,  345-352. 

Charleston,  123. 

Chicago,  225-235. 

Chinese,  276-278. 

Cincinnati,  225. 

Cleveland,  191. 

Coal,  52,  157,  211-218. 

Cocoanuts,  135. 

Coffee,  332,  347. 

Coke,  218-220. 

Colorado  River,  238. 

Columbia,  British,  316. 

Commerce  —  foreign,  our,  65-71,  81, 
91  ;  wonders  of,  66,  82,  207. 


Congress,  30-32. 

Copper,  182-184,  289. 

Corn,  159-163,  341. 

Cotton,  70,  78,  109-118,  141-143- 

Court,  supreme,  33. 

Dakotas,  165. 
Denver,  235. 
Detroit,  190. 
Duluth,  172. 

Eads,  James  B.,  1 36. 
Eskimos,  301-303,  310. 

Figs,  267. 

Fishing,  87,  132,  233,  281-283,  314. 

Florida,  130-135. 

Forests,  125-130,  184-190,  271,  280, 

34S- 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  53. 
Frazer  River,  318. 
Fulton,  Robert,  63. 
Furs,  303,  304,  312. 

Gas,  natural,  208-210. 

Georgia,  119. 

Geysers,  285-287. 

Glaciers,  299. 

Gold,  239-248,  306,  343. 

Government  —  Canada,  320  ;  Mexico, 

339  ;   United  States,  225-245. 
Great  Lakes,  172-202. 
Great  Salt  Lake,  263. 


Halifax,  327. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  63. 


353 


354 


INDEX. 


Hampton,  100. 

Hops,  289. 

Hudson  Bay  Company,  310. 

Immigration,  72,  278. 

Indian,  290-297,  330,  340,  347. 

Indian  Territory,  296. 

Iowa,  161. 

Iron,  179-182,  211,  218-223. 

Irrigation,  262,  268. 

Jacksonville,  131. 
Jamestown,  103. 
James  River,  103. 

Kansas,  161. 
Klondike,  307. 

Lawrence,  Captain  James,  63. 

Leadville,  248. 

L' Enfant,  Pierre,  20. 

Liberty  statue,  73. 

Library,  National,  21. 

Louisiana  Purchase,  143. 

Louisville,  225. 

Lumber,  129,  184-190,  271-273,  349. 

Mahogany,  350. 

Manhattan  Island,  59. 

Manufactures  —  76-84,  191,  195,  202, 

229,    224,   273;    cotton,    115-118; 

coke,     218-220 ;      iron,     220-223  ; 

lumber,     184-190 ;      meats,     230 ; 

sugar,   146-150. 
Marble,  89. 
Marshall,  James,  240. 
Mayflower,  98. 
Memphis,  153. 
Mexico,  327-345. 
Mexico,  Gulf  of,  135. 
Mexico  City,  336-339. 
Milwaukee,  234. 
Mines  —  coal,  211-218;  copper,  182- 

184;  gold,  239-248,  306,  307,  343; 

iron,  179-182;  silver,  248-255,  343. 


Minneapolis,  168. 
Minnesota,  165. 
Mint,  53. 

Mississippi  River,  135-171,  223. 
Missouri,  158,  161. 
Money,  U.  S.,  40,  41,  53-56. 
Monongahela  River,  215. 
Montreal,  321-324. 
Monument  —  Bunker  Hill,  94;  Wash 
ington,  23. 
Moose  hunting,  313. 
Mormons,  260. 

Navy,  36. 

Nebraska,  161. 

Negroes,  100. 

New  England,  76—99. 

Newfoundland,  Banks  of,  315. 

New  Orleans,  135-143. 

New  York,  57-75. 

Niagara  Falls,  195-202. 

Norfolk,  99. 

North  America,  General,  9-24. 

Ohio  River,  223-225. 
Olives,  266. 

Oranges,  133,  134,  266. 
Oregon,  280. 
Ottawa,  319-321. 
Oysters,  47-49,  101. 

Parks  —  Boston  Common,  91 ;  Central, 
New  York,  75;  Chicago,  234;  Fair- 
mount,  Philadelphia,  57;  Yellow 
stone,  239. 

Panama,  351. 

Patent  Office,  43. 

Peanuts,  101-103. 

Penn,  William,  52. 

Perry,  Captain,  191. 

Petroleum,  203-207. 

Philadelphia,  50-57. 

Pike's  Peak,  235. 

Pilgrims,  98. 

Pineapples,  135,  332. 


INDEX. 


355 


Pittsburgh,  215,  218-223. 
Plymouth,  98. 
Popocatepetl,  343-345. 
Portland,  281. 
Postal  Systems,  U.  S.,  42. 
Prairie  dogs,  258. 
Prescott,  Colonel  William,  95. 
President,  U.S.,  25-29. 
Puget  Sound,  283. 

Quarries,  88. 
Quebec,  325-327. 

Railroads,    81,    86,    256,    289, 

331- 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  105. 

Red  River  Valley,  167. 

Revere,  Paul,  96. 

Rice,  121-123. 

Rocky  Mountains,  235-264. 

Roebling,  John  A.,  74. 

Rubber,  350. 

St.  John's  River,  131. 

St.  Louis,  158. 

St.  Paul,  171. 

Salt,  263. 

Salt  Lake  — Great,  263;  City  of, 

262. 

San  Francisco,  274-278. 
Seals,  303,  304. 
Seattle,  283. 
Sheep,  258. 

Shipping,  173,  207,  275. 
Shoes,  79,  82-84. 
Silver,  248-255. 
Sitka,  300,  305. 
Slate,  89. 

Smith,  Captain  John,  99. 
Smithsonian  Institute,  22. 
South  Carolina,  111-121. 


Spaniards,  330. 

Standish,  Miles,  98. 

State  Department,  45. 

Steamships,  69-73,  80,  99,  115,  156. 

Stockyards,  230. 

Sugar  —  beet,    144;    cane,     143-150; 

maple,  89. 
Sumter,  Fort,  124. 
Superior,  Lake,  172-184. 

Tacoma,  283. 
Taxes,  U.  S.,  39. 
Tea  Party,  Boston,  95. 
317,    Titusville,  203. 

Tobacco,  104-108. 
Toronto,  321. 
Treasury,  39. 
Turpentine,  125-129. 

United  States,  14-306. 
Utah,  256-264. 

Vancouver,  317. 
Vera  Cruz,  328. 
Vicksburg,  153. 
Victoria,  316. 
Vineyards,  269. 
259-  Virginia,  100-108. 


Walnuts,  268. 
Washington,  D.C.,  14-25. 
Washington.  Mount,  86. 
\Vatches,  now  made,  79. 
Whales,  314. 
Wheat,  164-171. 
White  House,  25-29. 
Winnepeg,  319. 

Yellowstone,  the,  284-288. 
Yosemite,  273. 
Yukon  River,  306. 


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